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January 2017
USDA e-News
California Edition
United States Department of Agriculture
Welcome to USDA e-News, California Edition, a multi-agency newsletter
providing California’s producers and other interested parties
with current information.
In this issue: Featured Item |Updates| Funding Opportunities| Reports & Publications
Other Activities & Events| About Us|Contact Us
Featured Items
USDA and CDFA Host Joint Summit on Healthy Soils
The public is invited to a Soils Summit hosted by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) on healthy soil and climate smart agriculture. The meeting provides an opportunity to explore roles and collaborative opportunities for managing California soils for health and natural fertility while reducing greenhouse gases. The meeting will be held at the CDFA Auditorium on Jan. 11, 2017 from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The CDFA is located at 1220 N St, Sacramento. For more information on the meeting see
Updates
2017 Conservation Easement Applications for Agricultural Lands and Wetlands Due by January 20
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is currently accepting applications for the Agricultural Conservation Easements Program (ACEP). ACEP offers two easement options, Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) and Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE). A total of $18.6 million is available for ACEP applicants throughout California. ACEP applications may be submitted at any time to NRCS. However, applications for current funding must be submitted on or before January 20, 2017. As with all NRCS easements, the landowner retains the title to the land, and the right to control access and recreational use. The land remains on the tax rolls. Learn more about ACEP by visiting
USDA Issues Safety-Net Payments to the Farmers in Response to 2015 Market Downturn
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that beginning today, many of the 1.7 million farms that enrolled in either the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs will receive safety-net payments due to market downturns during the 2015 crop year. This fall, USDA will be making more than $7 billion in payments under the ARC-County and PLC programs to assist participating producers, which will account for over 10 percent of USDA’s projected 2016 net farm income.
These payments will help provide reassurance to America’s farm families, who are standing strong against low commodity prices compounded by unfavorable growing conditions in many parts of the country. Overall, 76 percent of participating farm base acres are enrolled in ARC-County, 23 percent in PLC and one percent in ARC-Individual. For other program information including frequently asked questions, visit
For more information, producers are encouraged to visit their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. To find a local FSA office, visit
Funding Opportunities
USDA Announces Streamlined Guaranteed Loans and Additional Lender Category for Small-Scale Operators
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced recently the availability of a streamlined version of USDA guaranteed loans, which are tailored for smaller scale farms and urban producers. The program, called EZ Guarantee Loans, uses a simplified application process to help beginning, small, underserved and family farmers and ranchers apply for loans of up to $100,000 from USDA-approved lenders to purchase farmland or finance agricultural operations.
USDA today also unveiled a new category of lenders that will join traditional lenders, such as banks and credit unions, in offering USDA EZ Guarantee Loans. Microlenders, which include Community Development Financial Institutions and Rural Rehabilitation Corporations, will be able to offer their customers up to $50,000 of EZ Guaranteed Loans, helping to reach urban areas and underserved producers. Banks, credit unions and other traditional USDA-approved leaners, can offer customers up to $100,000 to help with agricultural operation costs.
EZ Guarantee Loans offer low interest rates and terms up to seven years for financing operating expenses and 40 years for financing the purchase of farm real estate. USDA-approved lenders can issue these loans with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) guaranteeing the loan up to 95 percent.
More than half of all FSA loans go to new farmers and more than a quarter to underserved borrowers. FSA also offers loans of up to $5,000 to young farmers and ranchers though the Youth Loan Program. Loans are made to eligible youth to finance agricultural projects, with almost 9,000 young people now participating. More information about the available types of FSA farm loans can be found at or by contacting your local FSA office. To find your nearest office location, visit
Federal Funding Available to Expand On-farm Conservation Activities
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California will now accept and process applications for enrollment in the updated Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the nation’s largest conservation program by acreage.
NRCS has made several updates to the program this year to help producers better evaluate their conservation options and the benefits to their operations and natural resources. New methods and software for evaluating applications will help producers see up front why they are or are not meeting stewardship thresholds, and allow them to pick practices and enhancements that work for their conservation objectives. These new tools also allow producers to see potential payment scenarios for conservation early in the process.
Interested customers can find out additional information about CSP and if they qualify at or by calling their local NRCS Service Center, which can be found at
Federal Funding Available to Address Tree Mortality on Private Forestlands
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California is expanding its initiative to assist private forestland owners in addressing tree mortality and other drought-related damage to improve forest health. NRCS will provide financial assistance for landowners with dead and dying conifer forest trees in certain counties. Removing dead tree debris and other woody material will also help reduce the spread of invasive pests and reduce the threat of wildfire.
Landowners with dead trees on non-industrial private conifer forestlands in Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Kern, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Nevada, Placer, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Tulare and Tuolumne counties may be eligible for financial assistance. Funding is available through the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
Reports and Publications
NASS Reports
Dairy Products – November 2016 (01/05/17)
Crop Production (01/12/17)
Processing Tomato Report (01/19/17)
Olive Inventory(01/26/17)
Other Activities and Events
Vegetable Chemical Use Data Collection Ongoing
Enumerators began collecting data for the Vegetable Chemical Use survey in October, and will continue through the beginning of the New Year. Participation is vital to all participants in this key agricultural sector. Responses from vegetable growers will help ensure that chemicals critical to crop production remain available on the market. NASS is also asking questions about growers’ microbial food safety practices. The results of this survey will help inform food safety policies with accurate data on pesticide use and other pest management practices used by vegetable growers across the nation. Growers can use the data to compare their own practices with aggregated data from growers in their state and the nation.For more information, visit or call Sarah DeVandry in the Pacific Regional Office at or 916-498-8938.
2016 Ag Resource Management Survey (ARMS) to Provide Benchmark Data for Milk
ARMS is a joint effort of NASS and USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS). Beginning in January and continuing through early April of next year, NASS will be gathering information about farm economics and production practices from farmers and ranchers across the U.S. This year, the survey will provide additional cost of production data for organic and conventional milkoperations. Data from the 2016 ARMS can be used as a benchmark for the dairy industry, telling the story of California dairies before the USDA releases a decision on the proposed federal milk marketing order. The data will also be used to assess the crop insurance choices made by farmers, helping policymakers better understand the impact of crop insurance offerings on farm production decisions and financial outcomes. NASS will continue data collection for ARMS through early April of next year. For more information, visit or contact Jennifer Johnson, in the Pacific Regional Office at 916-498-8936.
Grape Crush Survey Workbook Online
The 2016 Grape Crush survey of grapes crushed and/or purchased began last month. A paper workbook was mailed mid-November and the electronic workbook is online for immediate e-filing. Completed workbooks must be submitted by January 10, 2017.A Preliminary Report will be published February 10, 2017 and a Final Report will be available March 10, 2017. To find out more, email or contact Lena Schwedler at the California NASS office at 1-800-851-1127.
USDA NASS and NRCS Continue Project to Gather Conservation Data Nationwide
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is contacting farmers and ranchers from now through early 2017 as part of the second phase of a national survey of conservation practices.During the first phase of the National Resources Inventory (NRI) – Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP), NASS contacted California farmers and ranchers to determine if their operations and properties met eligibility criteria to participate in the survey. CEAP’s purpose is to measure the environmental benefits associated with implementation and installation of conservation practices on cultivated and non-cultivated agricultural lands, according to USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the lead agency for the project. NASS conducts the survey for CEAP under a cooperative agreement with NRCS.For more information, visit or call Michael Landis in the Pacific Regional Office at 916-498-8940.
Questions about a survey from USDA NASS?
Call NASS at 1-800-851-1127 or email .
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Funding Opportunities
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Overview of Programs
Contact Us
If you would like to receive a copy of future newsletters or if you have relevant information for California producers that you want to include in a future issue of this newsletter, please email one of the contacts listed below. Please be advised that not all activities may be published.
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
Jeffrey Smutny, Regional Director
559-487-5901
Farm Service Agency (FSA)
Oscar Gonzales, Jr., State Executive Director
530-792-5520
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Luana Kiger, Special Assistant
530-792-5661
Anita Brown, Public Affairs Director
530-792-5644
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
Curt Stock, Deputy Director
916-498-5161
Risk Management Agency (RMA)
Catharine Anderson, Risk Management Specialist
530-792-5885
Rural Development (RD)
Sarah Marquart, Public Affairs
916-798-9295
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