Information needed for local foods directory

BISMARCK– Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring encourages all providers of locally-produced foods to list their business information in the new edition of the North Dakota local foods directory.

“The new 2014-15 directory is being compiled now, and the information is needed soon to meet the publication deadline,” Goehring said. “It’s now faster and easier than ever to send in your information on the new online registration form.”

The form is available at www.nd.gov/ndda/local-foods-directory. Producers who prefer to mail in their information should obtain a form by contacting Jamie Good, North Dakota Department of Agriculture, 600 E. Boulevard Ave., Dept. 602, Bismarck, ND 58505-0020 or (701) 328-2659.

The deadline for submitting information is Friday, March 14.

Goehring said the directory is open to all local foods producers.

“It’s more than fruits and vegetables,” he said. “The directory is open to all businesses that market locally-sourced products.”

Each listing includes the name of the operation, address, phone number, description of products offered, times of operation and contact persons.

“For the first time, producers can list all the places where their products are sold, including grocery stores,” Goehring said.

In addition to producers, the guide also lists information on sellers of local foods, such as farmers markets, roadside stands, pick-your-own gardens, CSAs and home delivery produce operations.

Goehring said the new directory will be available in May.

New edition of noxious weed guide now available

BISMARCK –Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring has announced that a new edition of “A Guide to North Dakota Noxious and Troublesome Weeds” is now available from the North

Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) and the North Dakota State University Extension Service.

“Correct identification of problem weeds is the first step to controlling them,” Goehring said. “This new, pocket-sized field guide has detailed information and color photos to help landowners and land managers determine the invasive plants on their property and the measures needed to stop their spread.”

Written by Rodney G. Lym, professor of plant sciences at NDSU, the 67-page, spiral bound booklet contains descriptions and photographs of 31 noxious and invasive weeds, including long-established species such as leafy spurge, Canada thistle and hoary cress, as well as relative newcomers like halogeton, orange hawkweed and black henbane.

Symbols listed with each entry denote whether the plant is a county or state-listed noxious weed, the methods for controlling the weed and whether the weed is poisonous.

“A Guide of North Dakota Noxious and Troublesome Weeds” is available free of charge from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture at (800) 242-7535 or ndda@nd.gov or the North Dakota State University Distribution Center at (701) 231-7883 or sharon.lane@ndsu.edu. The publication also is online atwww.bit.ly/NDweeds.

Landowners May Reallocate

Crop Bases and Update Program Yields

The 2014 Agricultural Act (farm bill) offers landowners the option to reallocate base acres and update base yields. Base acre reallocation is by individual farm units, and updating program yields is crop by crop on individual farm units.

Landowners may reallocate bases on any or all of their farm units. However, for any farm unit the landowner chooses to reallocate, all crop bases on that farm must be reallocated.

“The key word is reallocate, not update, as was an option with the 2002 farm bill,” says Dwight Aakre, North Dakota State University Extension Service farm management specialist. “Reallocation means a landowner can change the mix of crop bases on the farm but cannot increase total base acres. Reallocation will be determined by the acreage of each covered commodity planted and prevented planted on the farm from 2009 through 2012.”

A percentage for each covered commodity is determined as a percent of the total covered commodities produced during the four years. That percentage is applied to the 2013 total base acres to determine the new crop bases.

Landowners also have the option to update program yields. Updated yields will be calculated on production from 2008 through 2012. Yields for each year during 2008 through 2012 that a covered commodity was produced will be averaged. Years when the crop was not planted will be excluded. If the new yield exceeds the 2013 counter-cyclical yield, the landowner has the option to accept the higher yield. Landowners may update some crop yields and leave others unchanged. Each farm unit is treated individually.

“Program yields are used in determining the size of the payment for farms enrolled in the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) option,” Aakre says. “PLC payments are determined by multiplying base acres times 85 percent times program yield times the payment rate per bushel or hundredweight. Updated yields will remain with the farm and be used to compute any PLC payments throughout the life of the 2014 farm bill.”

Actual yields are included in the calculation for determining benchmark revenue for farms that select the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC)-farm option. Higher yields result in a higher benchmark, which increases the chance of a payment.

However with the ARC-farm option, the benchmark yield is a rolling average. Actual yields must be reported to the Farm Service Agency (FSA) every year and a new five-year Olympic average is calculated.

Olympic average refers to dropping the highest and lowest prices and yields and averaging the remaining values. The revenue guarantee is 86 percent of this calculation.

Base acres factor into calculating the payment for all three program options.

The ARC-county option and PLC use a factor of 85 percent of the base acres by crop in calculating the total payment. The ARC-farm option uses total planted acres of all covered commodities to calculate the payment per acre and then multiplies this payment rate times 65 percent of total base acres on the farm to calculate the total payment.

Base reallocation and yield updates must be completed this year. The FSA will provide notification to landowners that will include the base and yield information of record as of Oct. 1, 2013. It will be up to landowners to decide whether any reallocating or updating is to their advantage.