4th July 2006, WASHINGTON: Colleen Cashell, executive director of USDA's Farm Service Agency in Washington County, announced what she called "an important change" to 2006 and subsequent crop years' beneficial interest requirements for Loan Deficiency Payments.
She said this change is due to a change in the beneficial interest regulations recently printed in the Federal Register, 7CFR Part 1421. Beneficial Interest is defined as having control of the commodity and title to the commodity. Control of the commodity includes being able to make all decisions affecting the commodity and having risk of loss associated with producing and maintaining quality and quantity of the commodity.
According to Cashell, if a grain storage facility is not a state approved or a CCC warehouse, beneficial interest is lost at the time of delivery. If grain commodity, in any eligible harvested form, is delivered to a dairy, feedlot, wool pool, ethanol plant, or feed mill, beneficial interest is lost on the date of delivery. When producers deliver grain to a state approved grain storage facility, and they meet the other requirements to maintain beneficial interest, they will only be eligible to get an LDP for the 15 days starting with date of delivery, with the loss of beneficial interest on the 16th day. Only producers with commodity stored on the farm will be able to request the LDP more than 15 days after harvest; as long as they still have beneficial interest in the crop, and before the program deadline of March 31 for small grains and May 31 for corn and soybeans.
A list of state approved warehouses is at: http://www.mda.state.md.us/pdf/grainbrochure2005.pdf
Or, it is available from the FSA office for those producers who do not have internet access.
To find out more about FSA loan deficiency payment programs, contact your local FSA office. In Washington County, visit 1260 Maryland Ave, Suite 107, Hagerstown, or call 301- 797-0500, ext. 2.
