December 1, 2011

NRCS, FSA, RMA, and Army Corps of Engineers share information, resources

“Farming after the Flood – Farmer Perspectives and Agency Resources” will be the focus of a December 14, multi-state webinar for those affected by the 2011 Missouri River flood.

The webinar will feature two producers in the process of repairing their farmland and representatives from key USDA agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who are working with producers whose farmland sustained flood damage.

“Many farmers and landowners may be facing several inches of sediment and sand, scour holes and ponds, and wondering what resources are available to help them proactively address these problems and prepare for the 2012 crop season,” said Craig Derickson, Nebraska State Conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. “We have assembled a lot of important information to help farmers affected by the 2011 flood move forward.”

The webinar will be from 1:30 to 4:00 Wednesday, December 14, at more than 20 sites in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Second in a series, it is being sponsored by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension and Iowa State Extension in cooperation with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA), Risk Management Agency (RMA), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Presentations will include a farmer panel and information from speakers on government resources and programs, points to consider when planning for the 2012 cropping season, and how to remain in compliance with farm bill programs while bringing flooded acres back to productivity. The sessions will be followed by a question and answer period. In addition, fact sheets and resources for further information will be distributed to participants at each site.

For farmers with crop insurance and risk management questions, two representatives from the USDA RMA will discuss current programs.

“Planning will be particularly important this year,” said Rebecca Davis, director of the USDA Risk Management Agency regional office in Topeka, Kan. Crop insurance topics to be discussed will include prevented planting requirements, 2012 premium rates, breached levees, and exclusion options for high risk lands. Davis advised that growers in flooded areas contact their crop insurance agent in advance of the March 15 Sales Closing Date so they can develop a plan best suited to their situation.

The webinar also will include:

• A farmer panel with Scott Olson of Tekamah, Nebr., and Lyle McIntosh of Missouri Valley, Iowa, on how they are repairing fields physically and biologically
• An overview of flood recovery programs, including levee repair, land clearing, and soil restoration assistance available from NRCS, FSA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Long-term land retirement programs available from NRCS, FSA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Flooding impacts on crop insurance
• How to remain in compliance with Farm Bill programs
• Additional resources

“This information should help producers make the best choices for their land,” said John Wilson, extension educator with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln working on flood recovery.

Viewing Sites

For more information on this webinar and additional host sites as they become available, as well as links to archived segments and fact sheets from the first webinar, visit:

• http://flood.unl.edu/crops, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension website, and
• http://www.extension.iastate.edu/topic/recovering-disasters, an Iowa State University Extension website.

Iowa

• Council Bluffs at the West Pottawattamie Extension Office, 3501 Harry Langdon Blvd., Ste. 100, contact Cheri Boyer, 712-366-7070, cmboyer@iastate.edu
• Logan at the Harrison County Extension Office, 304 E. 7th St., contact Rich Pope, 712-644-2105, ropope@iastate.edu
• Malvern at the Mills County Extension Office, 415 Main St., contact Sherry Ford, 712-624-8616, slford@iastate.edu
• Onawa at the Monona County Extension Office, 119 Iowa Ave., contact Melanie Holt, 712-423-2175, mlholt@iastate.edu, or Cheri Hardison, chardi@iastate.edu
• Sidney at the Fremont County Extension Office, 610 Clay St., contact Anne Chambers, 712-374-2351, amorr@iastate.edu
• Sioux City at the Woodbury County Extension Office, 4301 Sergeant Road, contact Adrienne Jansen, 712-276-2157, jansena@iastate.edu, or Kristi Van Zanten at kvanzan@iastate.edu

Kansas

• Atchison at the Atchison Board of Education, 626 Commercial St., contact Carl “Ray” Ladd, 913-833-5450, cladd@ksu.edu
• Wathena at the Wathena City Hall Meeting Room, 206 St. Joseph St., contact Mindy Young, 785-985-3623, myoung5@ksu.edu

Missouri

• Rockport at the Atchison County Extension Center, 201 Hwy 136 East, contact Jim Crawford, 660-744-6213, crawfordj@missouri.edu
• St. Joseph at the Buchanan County Extension Center, 4125 Mitchell Avenue, contact Bob Kelly, 816-279-1691, kellyr@missouri.edu
• Oregon at the Holt County Extension Center, 101 E. Missouri, contact Wayne Flanary, 660-446-3724, flanaryw@missouri.edu

Nebraska

• Auburn at Educational Service Unit #4, 919 16th St., contact Gary Lesoing, 402-274-4755, glesoing2@unl.edu
• Beatrice at the UNL Extension Office in Gage County, 1115 W. Scott St., contact Paul Hay, 402-239-1341, phay1@unl.edu
• Blair at the Blair City Hall Council Chambers, 218 S. 16th St., contact Steve Tonn, 402-426-9455, stonn2@unl.edu
• Center at Knox County Courthouse Annex, 308 Bridge St., contact: Ruth Vonderohe, 402-288-5611, rvonderohe2@unl.edu
• Dakota City at the USDA Service Center, 1505 Broadway, contact Keith Jarvi or Carol Larvick, 402-987-2140, kjarvi1@unl.edu or clarvick1@unl.edu
• Falls City at the Richardson County Courthouse, 1700 Stone St., Lower Level, contact Lindsay Chichester, 402-254-4324, lchichester2@unl.edu
• Hartington at the Cedar County Courthouse Annex Meeting Room, 101 E. Centre, contact Jackie Steffen, 402-254-6821, jsteffen2@unl.edu
• Omaha at the Douglas/Sarpy Extension Office, 8015 W. Center Road, contact Monte Stauffer, 402-444-7804, mstauffer1@unl.edu
• Syracuse at the UNL Extension Office in Otoe County, 180 Chestnut St., contact Sarah Purcell, 402-269-2301, spurcell2@unl.edu
• Tekamah at the Tekamah City Auditorium, 1315 K St., contact: John Wilson, 402-374-2929, jwilson3@unl.edu

South Dakota

• Aberdeen at the SDSU Extension Aberdeen Regional Center, 13 2nd Ave. SE., contact Mark Rosenberg, 605-626-2870, mark.rosenberg@sdstate.edu
• Mitchell at the SDSU Extension Mitchell Regional Center, 821 N. Capital St., contact Heather Larson, 605-995-7378, heather.larson@sdstate.edu
• Pierre at the SDSU Extension Pierre Regional Center, 412 W. Missouri, contact Ruth Beck, 605-773-8120, ruth.beck@sdstate.edu