AG LINK - March/April 2009

Milk Income Loss Contract Program

Marathon County dairy producers are reminded that to participate in the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, new contracts must be signed, according to Diana Pernsteiner, Director of the Marathon County Farm Service Agency (FSA). The initial sign-up period for the program ended Wednesday, January 21, 2009.

“There is an extended sign-up period that we are currently conducting. Producers signing up for the MILC program now will not have the option to select any of the prior months to start their payments. This may not be a problem for producerswho have not yet signed up for the MILC program because there is no MILC payment rate for the beginning of fiscal year 2009 which began in October of 2008”, explained Pernsteiner.

Pernsteiner explained that there are three major differences between MILC programs of the past and this new program: The method for determining the payment rate when the Boston Class I milk price falls below $16.94 per hundredweight now includes an adjustment made for high feed costs, The payment rate itself has been increased to 45 percent, up from 34 percent. The maximum eligible pounds for payment per dairy operation per fiscal year, has increased to 2.985 million.

Any dairy producer who commercially produces milk in the United States is eligible to participate in the program. To receive payment, they must be in conservation compliance with the wetland and highly erodible land provisions of the U.S. farm bill. Applicants are subject to the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) limitation. If non-farm income exceeds $500,000, the dairy operation and the dairy producer are not eligible for MILC benefits. Marathon County dairy producers should contact the FSA county office at (715) 848-2330, if they have not yet signed up.

Use Caution In Spreading Manure

Dairy and livestock producers are urged to avoid spreading manure in coming days in those areas where forecasted rain and snowmelt are expected to increase the risk of runoff. While most farmers carefully manage manure, manure spread on fields can be carried into lakes, rivers and groundwater by rain or melting snow. Farmers can lose the manure as a valuable fertilizer. In fact, a UW research survey released in November, 2008 showed that the N, P, and K content of manure from a typical 100-cow dairy farm was worth more than $30,000 when compared with commercial fertilizers. Manure can cause water quality problems that can include killing fish and contaminating drinking water wells.

The Marathon County Conservation, Planning and Zoning (CPZ) Department, is a valuable source of manure management information and can help find alternatives if you are running out of storage capacity but want to avoid spreading during high risk conditions.

If manure must be applied, the following steps can reduce the risk of runoff:

• Do not spread manure on fields where their location and slope presents a high risk of manure running off. Contact the Marathon County CPZ, certified agronomist or manure hauler to help find alternatives or to identify fields with the lowest risk of runoff.
• Monitor weather forecasts and avoid spreading if rain or snowmelt conditions are predicted.
• Apply manure on fields with little or no snow cover if possible. Contact with soil reduces the risk of runoff as does incorporation into the soil if conditions allow.
• Avoid fields that are near drinking water wells or that have sinkholes or exposed bedrock to reduce the risk of groundwater contamination.

Even if these precautions are followed, runoff events may still occur in certain weather conditions. A state-approved Nutrient Management Plan can be developed for your farm to improve crop utilization of manure nutrients, and reduce adverse environmental affects. Contact your local agronomist, or to develop your own plan, contact Kirk Langfoss at Marathon County CPZ (261-6008) or Mike Wildeck at Marathon County UW-Extension (261-1239) for information about upcoming classes.

Farm Technology Days 2011 — Volunteer Opportunities Already Available!

Are you interested in being involved in the planning and coordination of the largest outdoor agriculture show in Wisconsin? Looking for an opportunity to network with other persons interested in agriculture?

Keith Langenhahn, Chair of the 2011 Executive Committee, says “it may seem like a long ways off, but recruiting is well underway for fourteen working committees. There is an Executive Committee member working closely with each of these committees.

Learn more on the Farm Technology Days committees page >>>

2009 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program Sign-up Deadline Approaching

County Executive Director for the Marathon County Farm Service Agency (FSA) director, Diana Pernsteiner, would like to remind producers planning to enroll a farm in the 2009 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP) that sign up ends very early this year. The deadline is June 1, 2009.

The Farm Service Agency has already begun the 2009 sign-up. “We have a full schedule of appointments through March”, said Pernsteiner. “Currently, if a producer does not have an appointment scheduled, we do not know that they have a farm with over 10 acres of bases that could be enrolled for 2009”, she added. There is no late sign-up period, as in prior years, giving producers a second chance for enrolling for 2009. June 1, 2009 is the deadline to enroll a farm in the 2009 Direct & Counter-cyclical Program.

The direct payment is a guaranteed payment for past crop history, indicated by the bases and yields on the farm, while counter-cyclical payments vary depending on market prices, and are earned only when the effective price for a commodity is below its target price. ACRE is a new program coming out of the new Farm Bill. Unfortunately, ACRE is not ready to offer producers at this time so we are moving forward with the 2009 DCP sign-up.

15th Annual Winter Grazing Conference

The Heart of Wisconsin 15th annual Winter Grazing Conference will be held Wednesday, March 11, 9:45am-4 pm at the Stoney Creek Inn, Mosinee. This event is sponsored by the Central Wisconsin River Graziers’ Network and the Portage/Wood/Waupaca Grazing Network.

Morning and afternoon Breakout sessions include:

• Progressive Investment Strategies for Parlors presented by Sam Zimmermann and Alex Crockford
• Taking Stock of your Pastures presented by Jim Gerrish
• Getting Started Successfully in Managed Grazing Today presented by Teal Fyksen and Adam Abel
• Building a Sustainable Farm Arrangement presented by Tom Cadwallader
• Getting the Most out of your Pastrues—Part 1presented by Jim Gerrish
• Getting the Most out of your Pastures—Part 2 presented by Jim Gerrish

A bonus session from 6-8 pm will be held discussing Producing Pasture Finished Beef presented by Jim Gerrish. The session will talk about making a profit with this operation and what really matters in grazing management. Information on Wisconsin Grass-Fed Beef Cooperatives will also be available.

Pre-registration is highly recommended. Cost of the conference is $10 per person in advance and includes lunch, handouts and speaker costs. Walk-in registration is $15 per person. Please contact Paul Daigle at 715-261-6006 for more information.

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