FSA Advises Producers to Anticipate Payment Reductions
November 27, 2013 USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is reminding farmers and ranchers who participate in FSA programs to plan accordingly in FY 2014 for automatic spending reductions known as sequestration.
The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) mandates that federal agencies implement automatic, annual reductions to discretionary and mandatory spending limits. For mandatory programs, the sequestration rate for FY 2014 is 7.2 percent.
FSA is implementing sequestration for eleven programs, including marketing assistance loans, loan deficiency payments, non-insured crop disaster assistance program, 2013 direct and counter-cyclical payments, storage and handling, and economic adjustment assistance for Upland cotton.
Conservation Reserve Program payments are specifically exempt by statute from sequestration, and those payments will not be reduced.
“These sequester percentages reflect current law estimates,” said FSA Administrator Juan M. Garcia. “However, with the continuing budget uncertainty, Congress still may adjust the exact percentage reduction. This announcement intends to help producers plan for the impact of sequestration cuts in FY 2014.
“At this time, FSA is required to implement the sequester reductions. Due to the expiration of the Farm Bill on September 30, FSA does not have the flexibility to cover these payment reductions in the same manner as in FY 2013. FSA will provide notification as early as practicable on the specific payment reductions.”
Information about FSA programs is available at county USDA Service Centers or online at www.fsa.usda.gov/.
Source – USDA
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