USDA announces July 15th crop acreage reporting deadline
ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia State Executive Director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency, Arthur Tripp Jr., reminds agricultural producers to file crop acreage reports with the USDA. These reports are essential for documenting the types of crops grown on their operations and their intended uses.
“Anybody who produces a crop or anybody who takes care of livestock, it’s very important that they’re aware of our July 15th crop acreage reporting deadline. Basically what that means is it’s very important that anybody who produces anything comes into their local USDA Service Center. We’ve got about 64 offices across the state. So, all you have to do is Google ‘USDA Service Center’ and come in there, and make sure that you are reporting what you are producing. It’s very important in order to be eligible for programs and resources that the United States Department of Agriculture has,” said Arthur Tripp, Jr., USDA Farm Service Agency, Georgia State Executive Director.
The next crop reporting deadline, impacting many agricultural producers, is July 15, 2024. With the next deadline approaching, Tripp Jr. emphasizes the importance of these reports.
“It’s the genesis of it all. When you come in and you report what you’re producing that determines your eligibility, once you report it, then we can go through the various programs that we have in the State of Georgia, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Farm Service Agency, we obligate over $1.3 billion in federal funding per year to our farmers and ranchers in this state. That’s 1.3 billion. It’s very important that our farmers and our ranchers have awareness of the various federal programs that are available. Think about it. We have a livestock indemnity program. We have our NAT program. These programs are available to our producers to help them continue to do what they do best, which is farm. We have a reporting deadline once a year, and once you come in and certify what you have, it gives us the ability to make sure we can have you enrolled in the programs that you were to be enrolled in. When a disaster happens, it’s very important that our producers and our farmers and ranchers already have everything that they’re going to produce on file that allows us to go back and make sure they receive the resources needed in the event that disaster strikes,” said Tripp Jr., USDA.
The USDA Farm Service Agency stresses the importance of agricultural producers meeting with their local USDA Service Centers.
“It doesn’t matter what you produce. Set up a meeting with your local USDA Service Center. Go in and talk to the team there, make sure that they are making you aware of the programs and resources available and get enrolled early. We want to make sure we do everything we can to protect our producers in the State of Georgia to make sure that they’re prepared in the event that disaster strikes,” said Tripp Jr., USDA.
De’Andra Jacobs reporting.
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