Hawaii & Pacific Basin August 2012 Your Farm Service Agency Online Monthly Newsletter Covering the Latest Topics In this Issue: Adjusted Gross Income Page 1: USDA and the Internal Revenue Service Drought Disaster have established an electronic information Assistance exchange process for verifying compliance Adjusted Gross Income with the adjusted gross income (AGI) Page 2: provisions for farm programs. Written consent is required from each producer or FSA Farm Loans payment recipient for the tax review Preventing Fraud process. No actual tax data will be included Beginning and Limited Drought Disaster Assistance in the report that IRS sends to Farm Service Resource Loans Agency. USDA has streamlined the disaster NAP Loss Filing designation process and lowered Page 3: emergency loan rates to help farmers The Great Green Fleet and ranchers in drought-stricken areas Makes History: State across the country. Executive Director Diane Ley Reflects on Historic Biofuels Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) low- Launch interest emergency loans will help Page 4: producers recover from losses due to drought, and other natural disasters. CREP & Continuous CRP Available The interest rate has been reduced to 2.25 percent, providing a much-needed Farm Safety resource for producers hoping to recover Page 5: from production and physical losses American Samoa’s associated with natural disasters. Territorial Farm This process ensures that payments are not Festival: Making the USDA encourages all farmers and issued to producers whose AGI exceeds Most of Outreach Opportunities ranchers to contact their crop insurance certain limits. The limits set in the 2008 companies and local FSA County Office, Farm Bill are $500,000 nonfarm average Page 6: as applicable, to report damages to crops AGI for commodity and disaster programs; Electronic Services or livestock loss. In addition, USDA $750,000 farm average AGI for direct Available reminds livestock producers to keep payments and; $1 million nonfarm average Farm Loan Interest thorough records of losses, including AGI for conservation programs. Rates for August 2012 additional expenses for such things as Dates to Remember food purchased due to lost supplies. More Remember: September 10th is information about federal crop insurance the deadline for the Reimburse- may be found at www.rma.usda.gov. ment of Transportation Cost Additional resources to help farmers and Payment Program : For more ranchers deal with disaster losses may be information on the program visit your found at www.usda.gov/disaster. local county office or www.fsa.usda.gov/pricesupport USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. 1 Hawaii & Pacific Basin Beginning and Limited Farm Service Agency Resource Loans Offices: Farm Service Agency (FSA) has targeted Hawaii & Pacific Basin FSA State Office funds set-aside to assist beginning ethnic 737 Bishop St, Ste 2340 and racial minority, and female farmers. Honolulu, HI 96813 FSA Farm Loans Targeted funds are available for both the Ph: (808)441-2704 direct and guaranteed loan programs. Farm Fax: (808)441-2705 The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is Service Agency defines a beginning farmer committed to providing family farmers with Hawaii County FSA as a person who: loans to meet their farm credit needs. If you Hilo 154 Waianuenue Ave, are having trouble getting the credit you Has operated a farm for10 years or Rm 102 need for your farm, contact your nearest less; Hilo, HI 96720 FSA office for details about direct and Will materially and substantially Ph: (808)933-8381 x 1 guaranteed loans. participate in the operation of the farm; Fax: (808)933-8345 Agrees to participate in a loan Kona Ask your current lender about an FSA loan assessment, borrower training and The Kona Office is guarantee if you have had a setback and financial management program closed until further notice your current lender is reluctant to extend or sponsored by FSA; and Please call 933-8381 x 1 renew your loan. Does not own a farm in excess of 30 for service or information percent of the county’s median size. Farm ownership loans or farm operating Honolulu County FSA Each member of an entity must meet the 99-193 Aiea Heights Dr, loans may be obtained as direct loans for a Suite 114 maximum of up to $300,000. Guaranteed eligibility requirements and loan approval is Aiea, HI 96701 loans have a maximum limit of $1,214,000. not guaranteed. Ph: (808)483-8600 x 2 Fax: (808)483-8615 The one-time loan origination fee charged Additional program information and loan applications are available at local FSA Kauai County FSA on FSA guaranteed farm ownership and 4334 Rice St, Rm 103 operating loans is 1.5 percent of the offices or visit www.fsa.usda.gov. Lihue, HI 96766 guaranteed portion of the loan. Ph: (808)245-9014 x 2 NAP Loss Filing Fax: (808)246-4639 To find out more about FSA loan programs, contact the county office staff to schedule an The Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Maui County FSA Program (NAP) is a federally funded 77 Hookele St, Ste 201 appointment. program administered by the United States Kahului, HI 96732 Ph: (808)871-5500 x 2 Preventing Fraud Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Fax: (808)873-6183 Agency (FSA). The program is designed to The Farm Service Agency (FSA) supports reduce financial losses when damaging Guam FSA Office the Risk Management Agency (RMA) in the 400 Route 8, Ste 306 weather or adverse natural occurrences Mongmong, GU 96910 prevention of fraud, waste and abuse of the cause a catastrophic loss of production (over Ph: (671)472-7568 Federal Crop Insurance Program. Farm 50%) to an eligible crop or agricultural Fax: (671)472-7580 Service Agency has been, and will continue commodity. CNMI (670)234-0896 to, assist RMA and insurance providers by The CCC-576, Notice of Loss, is used to American Samoa FSA monitoring crop conditions throughout the Pago Plaza Bldg, Ste growing season. Farm Service Agency will report failed acreage and prevented planting 213 continue to refer all suspected cases of and may be completed by any producer with Pago Pago, AS 96799 fraud, waste and abuse directly to RMA. an interest in the crop. Timely filing a Ph: (684)633-1031 x121 Notice of Loss is required for all crops Fax: (684)633-7614 Producers can report suspected cases to the including grasses. For losses on crops Hours FSA office, RMA, or the Office of the covered by the Noninsured Crop Disaster Monday—Friday Inspector General. Assistance Program (NAP) and crop 8:00 am—4:00 pm insurance, you must file a CCC-576, Notice of Loss, in the Farm Service Agency County Website www.fsa.usda.gov/hi Office within 15 days of the occurrence of the disaster or when losses become apparent. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. 2 geographically diverse supply sources of biomass and biofuels, and noted that the State of Hawaii has a strategic role to play; hence, the RIMPAC exercises off-shore from Honolulu, Hawaii, was a perfect match to demonstrate the capacity of advanced biofuels in the GGF. On the designated day for the GGF demonstration, I represented the USDA and traveled with Navy and congressional staff and representatives of several airlines; assembling before daybreak for briefings and preparations for transport on a propeller-driven aircraft Diane Ley, State Executive Director, Hawaii and Pacific Basin out to the USS Nimitz. We donned military issue life Farm Service Agency, prepares to depart Hickam Air Force Base for the Navy’s Great Green Fleet demonstration. jackets, goggles and cranial helmets with ear muffs; yet, the ear protection only afforded a limited decrease of the The Great Green Fleet Makes History! excessive noise throughout much of the day. State Executive Director Diane Ley Reflects on Historic Biofuels Launch We headed out onto the tarmac of Hickam Air Force Base and took seats facing the back of the no-frills WOW! The word “wow” only moderately conveys the plane. Squinting to see in the suddenly dark space as the historic events that unfolded this summer during the back hatch closed, a mixture of 50 percent biofuels and Department of Navy’s Rim of the Pacific Exercises fossil fuels raced through the aircraft’s engines, and the (RIMPAC) Great Green Fleet (GGF) demonstration. roar became deafening. The engines revved, gorged with The might and power of the United States Navy coupled the algae and animal fat mix; and the plane roared down with that of scores of other Pacific Rim countries was the runway and into impressive, but moreover a number of the great ships the sky. and aircraft were fueled by a mix of algae and animal fats. Traveling 45 miles due north of Honolulu, Yes, advanced biofuels produced from American grown through the aircraft’s algae and waste animal fats powering the all-powerful single viewing pane, military platforms! The man with the vision behind this naval vessels could be innovation, Secretary of Navy Ray Mabus, would seen dotting the sea proudly note the Navy’s continuing global leadership as and the horizon. an innovator – having led maritime vessels from sails to Cruisers, destroyers coal-fired steam, from coal to oil and nuclear; and now and then the USS the transition to advanced biofuels. Tom Vilsack, Nimitz came into Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) view. would later expound upon that message of innovation, “We can, as a nation, change the fuel production and After we landed on the Ships and planes off the coast of USS Nimitz and Hawaii, participating in the Great distribution paradigm in the world, if we are consistent Green Fleet demonstration. in our efforts to increase our production and use of scrambled out of the domestic biofuels, which are important to our energy aircraft, we were hit by the full might of steel upon the and national security as well as create jobs.” sea – the carrier’s deck 1,100 feet in length and 250 feet wide with a 10-story high bridge for observation and For nearly four years, Secretaries Mabus and Vilsack traffic control.