Jeff Durand:  "Don't delay!"

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) one month sign-up window is quickly closing, adding to the list of sign-ups for farmers this February.  The deadline for CSP is February 27, leaving less than two weeks to submit applications for the program. 

CSP will provide $100 million in financial assistance for conservation activities that improve conservation performance and address natural resource concerns and will cover up to 7.7 million acres for participating farms in 2015.  Payments can be made for implementing new practices, as well as for maintaining and expanding existing ones.  New to the program this year are expanded activities eligible for reimbursement ranging from water quality and quantity to animal habitats and air quality.  View the full list of CSP enhancement activities here.

"The rice industry has worked with NRCS to develop new enhancements that reward producers for their conservation efforts," said Jeff Durand, a Louisiana rice farmer and vice chairman of the USA Rice Producers' Group Conservation Committee.  "These are practices already in place, we just need to remind folks to take the necessary administrative steps to sign-up for CSP before the end of the month."

Though the deadline is fast approaching, there is still time to submit an application.  The NRCS CSP website offers a self-screening checklist to help producers determine if their operation is a good fit for the program.  After determining general applicability of CSP to your operation, visit your local NRCS office to discuss the broad range of conservation possibilities available this year.

Contact:  Ben Mosely (703) 236-1471

WASHINGTON, DC -- Earlier this month, the Risk Management Agency announced that revenue protection (RP) will not be offered with any rice crop insurance policies for the 2015 crop year due to "an insufficient number of full active trading days, as stipulated in the Commodity Exchange Price Provisions."  Rice policies with RP or RP-HPE (harvest price exclusion) will be available in future crop years pending a sufficient number of full active trading days.  Yield protection (YP) policies will remain available for the 2015 crop.

"We recognize this is a significant problem for our growers and we've expressed our frustration with the agency," said Ben Mosely, USA Rice Federation's vice president of government affairs.  "RMA Administrator Brandon Willis is scheduled to meet with the USA Rice Producers' Group Crop Insurance Task Force during next week's Government Affairs Conference to discuss our concerns." 

Contact:  Evan Spencer (703) 236-1476

Announcement:            17 February 2015

Tender:                          3 March 2015

Quantity:                     

            Total                                                    88,610 MT

            Whole-kernel (brown or milled)         85,610 MT

            Broken (milled)                                     3,000 MT

Shipping period:          15 August 2015

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