N.C. Cooperative Extension-Alexander County Newsletter October 2021

Soil Sample Pastures and Hayfields Now!

While for some it may be a little late to soil test now before planting winter annuals, it is still a good idea to go ahead and get a sample if you haven’t already. Knowing your soil’s fertility is important. Soil Sampling will let you know just what is needed in your soil to maximize forage growth. If you have seen underperforming perennial pastures or changes in forage species throughout the summer grazing season, you may be witnessing the effects of low soil fertility. Correcting the soil pH can take between four to six months, so fall is the optimum time to start.

Take several representative samples from similar areas of the field. For example if part of your pasture is bottom land, then take several samples from that area and mix them together. Then collect one sample from that mixture to send in. Be sure to label your samples so that you remember what came from where. Then move to the upland part of the pasture and repeat the process. The more samples that you take, the more accurate and representative the results will be. Once you have taken your samples, fill out your soil sample report and send your samples to NCDA&CS Agronomic Division Soil Testing Section. Early sampling is encouraged in order to take advantage of the free analysis available through November! Soil sample analysis during the months of December through March have a $4 per sample fee.

Reminder....USDA is providing up to $1 billion for payments to contract producers of eligible livestock and poultry of up to 80 percent of their revenue losses from January 1, 2020, through December 27, 2020. These funds were made available through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.

Contract producers of broilers, pullets, layers, chicken eggs, turkeys, and hogs and pigs may be eligible for CFAP 2. Ducks, geese, pheasants, and quail produced under contract are also eligible commodities, as well as breeding stock of eligible livestock and eggs of all eligible poultry types raised by contract producers.

Payments for contract producers are based on a comparison of eligible revenue for the periods of January 1, 2019, through December 27, 2019, and January 1, 2020, through December 27, 2020. Contract growers may elect to use eligible revenue from the period of January 1, 2018, through December 27, 2018, instead of that date range in 2019 as a more representative comparison to 2020. This is intended to provide flexibility and make CFAP 2 more equitable for contract producers who had reduced revenue in 2019 compared to a normal year for their operation. The difference in revenue is then multiplied by 80 percent to determine a final payment, as shown in the following equation:

Expected CFAP 2 Payment for Contract Producers = ((Eligible Revenue Received from January 1, 2019 through December 27, 2019 OR January 1, 2018 through December 27, 2018) – (Eligible revenue received from January 1, 2020 through December 27, 2020) x 0.80)

FSA may now adjust a contract producer’s eligible revenue based on information certified by the contract producer if the producer did not have a full period of revenue from January 1 to December 27 for either 2018 or 2019, or if the contract producer increased their operation size in 2020. Additionally, payments will be provided for eligible contract producers who were not in operation in 2018 or 2019, who would have been ineligible under the previous final rule. Assistance for these producers is based on their 2020 eligible revenue and the average revenue loss level, which will be determined by USDA for a geographic area or region based on the best available data.

Payments to contract producers may be factored if total calculated payments exceed the available funding. For more information please contact the Farm Service Agency at 704-872-5061 ext. 102.

https://www.farmers.gov/coronavirus/pandemic-assistance/cfap2