FRANKLIN COUNTY USDA SERVICE CENTER BULLETIN – OCTOBER 2026

The following information was released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture:

November 11, 2026 All Offices Closed for Veterans Day Federal Holiday

Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP)

November 20, 2026: Sales Closing Date Fruit Trees and Perennial Crops

December 31, 2026: Sales Closing Date Honey and Maple Sap

Commercially produced crops and agricultural commodities for which crop insurance is not available may be eligible for coverage against natural disaster under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. Producers of fruit trees and perennial crops such as peaches, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries and rhubarb may apply for coverage by November 20, 2026 and producers of honey and maple sap by December 31, 2026. Please contact the FSA office if you'd like to obtain coverage or see fsa.usda.gov/nap for more information.

November 26, 2026 All Offices Closed for Thanksgiving Federal Holiday

December 7, 2026 Ballot Return Deadline for the 2026 FSA County Committee Elections

Ballots will be mailed out on November 2nd to Local Administrative Area #1 eligible voters in Phillips, Avon, Strong, New Vineyard, and all other townships North in Franklin County. Last day to return voted ballots to the local FSA county office: December 7, 2026.

December 11, 2026: Deadline Agriculture Risk Coverage, Price Loss Coverage Programs

Producers on farms with base acres for eligible commodities may now make their 2026 election and enroll. If producers do not submit their 2026 election by Dec. 11th, their election remains the same as their 2025 elections for crops on the farm, and the farm is ineligible for payment for the 2026 program year.

December 18, 2026: 2027 Enrollment Deadline Dairy Margin Coverage Program (DMC)

DMC provides dairy operations with voluntary risk management coverage that will pay producers when the difference (the margin) between the national price of milk and the average cost of feed falls below a certain level selected by the program participants. Please contact the FSA office for more information and to enroll.

December 31, 2026: Deadline 2025 and 2026 Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP)

OCCSP provides organic producers and handlers with financial assistance to reduce the cost of organic certification. The program reimburses producers and handlers for a portion of their paid certification costs. Please contact the FSA office to apply or see OCCSP for more details.

Ongoing 2027 Acreage Reporting

Crop acreage reports filed with USDA-FSA document the crops grown on your farm and their intended uses. All producers are reminded of the importance in filing your yearly crop acreage report since a timely filed acreage report must be filed to be eligible for many USDA programs. Reporting deadlines are crop specific as outlined below.

December 15, 2026: Deadline Fall-Seeded Small Grains

January 2, 2027: Deadline Honey

January 15, 2027: Deadline Apples and Blueberries

January 31, 2027: Deadline Maple Sap

July 15, 2027: Spring Seeded Crops

Ongoing Unshorn Pelts and Wool Loan Deficiency Payments (LDP)

Unshorn pelts and wool loan deficiency payments (LDPs) have triggered. If you produce wool and/or unshorn pelts you may be eligible for LDPs. Click here for weekly commodity rates. Please contact the FSA office if you'd like to request payment.

Ongoing 2026 General Disaster Programs

USDA offers a variety of helpful programs with ongoing and localized deadlines to support agricultural producers that have been hard hit by natural disaster events. Check out our Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool if you have suffered a loss or damage from a natural disaster or contact the FSA office for more details or to apply.

From the FSA County Executive Director

Maine Natural Resources Disaster Relief Assistance Program (NRDRAP)

If your farm, agricultural business, forestry operation, or timberland experienced weather related losses in 2023 or 2024, you may be eligible for assistance through the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's Natural Resources Disaster Relief Assistance Program (NRDRAP).

The NRDRAP application period is August 14, 2026 to November 6, 2026.

Applications can be accepted via the online portal at maine.gov/dacf/nrdrap.

Though this program is being administered by the State of Maine's DACF, paper applications are available upon request at your local FSA county office.

Revenue Safety Net Programs, Completes First Base Acre Increase in Two Decades

Agricultural producers can begin enrolling in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently updated to include more than 30 million new base acres. This expansion, the first in 20 years, was made possible by the Working Families Tax Cuts Act and is part of USDA's efforts to put Farmers First.

Now that the base allocation process is complete, producers can make elections and enroll for the 2026 crop year from Sept. 16 through Dec. 11, 2026, and for the 2027 crop year from Nov. 2, 2026, through March 15, 2027. Because eligible acres exceeded the nationwide 30-million-acre cap, USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) is applying an across-the-board, prorated reduction of 3.69% to all newly allocated base acres.

Base Allocation Notifications

The opportunity for landowners to review their base allocation summaries and take necessary action ended Aug. 31, 2026. This included correcting inaccurate information, designating subsequent acres or opting out of adding base acres. Landowners did not lose base acres through the base allocation process.

If landowners did not notify FSA of changes, the base allocation summary is considered accurate and complete; however, an across-the-board factor will apply. FSA determined the base allocation percentage reduction using all acreage reported as eligible, and new base acres will automatically be allocated to farms after applying the 3.69% reduction.

Base allocation notifications will be available beginning Sept. 16, 2026. Landowners can access notifications online at fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc using a Login.gov account. Landowners who do not currently have a Login.gov account can contact their FSA county office to obtain their base allocation notification beginning Sept. 16, 2026.

Enrollment Period

Producers can now change their election and enroll in ARC-County (ARC-CO) or PLC, which both provide crop-by-crop protection, or ARC-Individual (ARC-IC), which protects the entire farm. Although election changes for 2026 are optional, producers must enroll through a signed contract each year. Existing multi-year contracts ended in 2025, but producers have the option to sign a new multi-year contract for 2026 through 2031. Producers who opt out of a multi-year contract can enroll for the 2027 crop year starting Nov. 2, 2026, through March 15, 2027.

If producers do not submit their 2026 election by Dec. 11, 2026, their election remains the same as their 2025 election for crops on the farm, and the farm is ineligible for payments for the 2026 program year. Landowners cannot enroll in either program unless they have a share interest in the farm.

Covered commodities include barley, canola, large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, long grain rice, medium and short grain rice, safflower seed, seed cotton, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat.

Some land grant universities offer web-based decision tools to help producers make informed election decisions using crop data specific to their respective farming operations.

Producers can make an appointment with their local FSA office to complete ARC and PLC elections and enrollment.

Crop Insurance Considerations

Producers are reminded that ARC and PLC election and enrollment can impact eligibility for some crop insurance products.

Producers can now add SCO coverage or the Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) regardless of their ARC or PLC election. Previously, producers who elected ARC-CO or ARC-IC were ineligible to purchase the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) through their Approved Insurance Provider for the same acres, but The Working Families Tax Cuts Act removed this restriction.

Upland cotton farmers who choose to enroll seed cotton base acres in ARC or PLC are ineligible for the Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) on their planted cotton acres for that farm.

Crop insurance information is available through USDA's Risk Management Agency. For more information on ARC and PLC, visit the ARC and PLC webpage or contact your local FSA County Office.

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USDA Helps Organic Producers with Certification Costs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is helping organic producers and handlers cover certification costs as part of the Department's effort to put Farmers First and Make America Healthy Again. USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting applications to help with organic certification costs for the 2025 and 2026 program years through the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP), which covers up to 75% of eligible organic certification costs. Producers and handlers must apply by Dec. 31, 2026, for both program years.

Cost Share Assistance

OCCSP provides cost share assistance to producers and handlers for the costs of obtaining or maintaining organic certification under the National Organic Program, which is administered by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service. Producers and handlers are eligible to receive 75% of the costs, up to $750 for each of the following scopes: crops, wild crops, livestock, processing/handling and state organic program fees.

FSA will make payments as applications are received on a first-come, first-served basis until available funds are depleted.

Eligibility

To be eligible for OCCSP, a producer or handler must have their USDA organic certification for the applicable program year at the time of application and must have paid fees or expenses related to the initial certification or renewal from a certifying agent during the program year. For program year 2025, they must have possessed a USDA organic certification at any time during the program year.

There are four USDA organic regulation recognized scopes that must be individually inspected and certified: crops, livestock, wild crops, and handling. The scopes must be listed on the producer or handler's organic certificate to be eligible for OCCSP. Eligible costs include:

Application and administrative fees for USDA organic certification

Inspection fees for USDA organic certification, including travel and per diem costs for organic inspectors

USDA organic certification costs, including fees necessary to access international markets with which AMS has equivalency agreements or arrangements

State organic program fees

User and sale assessment fees for USDA organic certification

Postage costs for materials related to obtaining or renewing USDA organic certification.

How to Apply

To apply, producers and handlers should contact their local FSA county office. As part of completing the OCCSP application, producers and handlers will need to provide documentation of their organic certification and eligible expenses.

Organic producers and handlers may also apply for OCCSP through participating state agencies.

Opportunity for State Agency Participation

FSA will soon announce a 30-day application period for state agencies to apply through grants.gov to administer OCCSP.

If a state agency chooses to participate in OCCSP, both the state agency and FSA county offices in that state will accept OCCSP applications and make payments to eligible certified operations. However, producers and handlers may not receive OCCSP payments for the same scope through both the state agency and their FSA county office.

More Information

For more information, producers and handlers can visit the OCCSP webpage or contact their local FSA county office.

USDA Announces 2027 Dairy Margin Coverage Enrollment

USDA announced that dairy producers starting next Monday can enroll for 2027 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC), a voluntary risk management program that was recently strengthened by the Working Families Tax Cuts Act with greater risk protection for dairy producers. DMC enrollment for 2027 starts Oct. 5 and runs through Dec. 18, 2026.

DMC provides financial protection when the difference between the national all-milk price and average feed cost falls below a producer-selected coverage level.

The Working Families Tax Cut Act reauthorized DMC through 2031 and strengthened the program to provide dairy producers with greater risk protection. These improvements took effect beginning with the 2026 program year and expanded the amount of production eligible for Tier 1 protection from five to six million pounds, updated production histories to better reflect current dairy operations, and provided producers with an opportunity to secure coverage through 2031 at a 25% reduced premium cost.

By protecting against periods of tighter margins, DMC provides an additional measure of financial stability and helps producers manage cash flow when milk prices, feed costs or a combination of the two put pressure on their operations. DMC payments trigger when the national dairy margin falls below a participating operation's selected coverage level.

2027 Enrollment

Producers can select DMC coverage levels ranging from $4.00 to $9.50 per hundredweight. DMC includes a catastrophic level of coverage available at no premium cost, although an annual $100 administrative fee generally applies. Producers may also purchase higher levels of coverage to provide additional protection against declining margins.

Dairy producers should evaluate their operation's risk management needs when selecting a coverage level. USDA provides an online dairy decision tool. Producers should contact their local FSA county office to enroll in DMC for the 2027 program year.

Producers who previously elected the multi-year DMC option for 2026 through 2031 are reminded that they must still certify to commercially market milk, sign a DMC contract, and pay the $100 administrative fee for each program year to maintain coverage. These producers will continue at the coverage level and percentage selected under their multi-year election and receive the 25% premium discount.

For more information about DMC, including current program information and DMC margins, dairy producers can visit fsa.usda.gov/dmc or contact their local FSA county office.

Making Your Land More Resilient to Drought

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service(NRCS) can help you conserve water and build resilience to drought, through conservation practices that improve irrigation efficiency, boost soil health, and manage grazing lands.

Irrigation Efficiency

USDA helps you improve your irrigation efficiency to ensure each drop of water is used wisely. Saving water on your farm can help during drought and can offset rising water costs; reduce expenditures for energy, chemicals, and labor; and enhance revenues through higher crop yields and improved crop quality. Funded conservation practices include conversion to more efficient irrigation systems, such as micro-irrigation or subsurface drip irrigation, installation of irrigation pipeline, irrigation water management, structures for water control, and flow meters. Tools like drip irrigation, which provides water precisely where and when it's needed, can achieve greater precision with flow meters and soil moisture sensors.

Soil Health

In addition, soil health conservation practices, such as reduced- or no-till, cover crops, mulching and residue management can help to make your soil, and the plants you grow or animals you raise, healthier. Healthier soil can absorb and retain more water for longer periods of time, making your farm or ranch more resilient to drought. Using soil health practices, you can conserve water by increasing your soil's water-holding capacity and use conservation tillage to keep the ground covered, reducing water loss through transpiration and evaporation.

And soil health practices increase organic matter, and each pound of organic matter can hold up to 20 pounds of water. Every 1% increase in organic matter results in as much as 25,000 gallons of soil water per acre. Each 1% increase in organic matter can also provide up to 30 pounds of more available nitrogen per acre. That means less money and time spent on inputs like water and fertilizer, which make your operation more profitable.

Rotational/Prescribed Grazing, Water Sources for Livestock

Drought also impacts grazing lands, and NRCS works with you to increase the resilience of your livestock operation. Ranchers can adapt to dry conditions in two main ways: increasing the availability and suitability of forage and ensuring that cattle have an adequate and reliable source of water. For forage, rotational or prescribed grazing (rotating cattle among pastures) can relieve pressure on stressed vegetation and ensure a more consistent supply of forage for animals. NRCS conservationists can also work with you to plant more drought-tolerant forage species, plants best suited to local soils and conditions. For reliable sources of water, NRCS can help you with installing watering facilities, water wells, or water pipeline for livestock. Having available forage and water for livestock can make a big difference in difficult drought conditions.

USDA and NRCS are here for you, helping you recover from drought and prepare for the next one. For more information on drought recovery assistance at farmers.gov/protection-recovery/drought. For more information on conservation practices to make your operation more resilient to drought in future years, go to www.nrcs.usda.gov.

USDA Improves Access to Credit by Streamlining and Modernizing Farm Loans

USDA is improving access to credit for farmers and ranchers by making farm loan policy and technology improvements, reducing administrative burdens and strengthening financial security. These updates will increase efficiency by expediting the application process for direct loans, streamlining the process for certain guaranteed lenders who partner with USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) and laying the groundwork for an electronic interface for guaranteed loans.

FSA makes direct and guaranteed loans to farmers and ranchers who are unable to obtain sufficient commercial credit at reasonable rates and terms. FSA farm loans can be used to purchase personal property or farmland, finance agricultural production expenses, or address day-to-day operational needs. The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act authorizes most farm loans including farm ownership, farm operating, and emergency loans.

Fast Tracking Direct Loan Applications

Following a successful pilot program, FSA is permanently implementing the Application Fast Track (AFT) process to expedite the loan application and approval process for low-risk direct loan applicants. AFT expedites the underwriting process for direct loan applicants who are least likely to default on their loans based on financial benchmarks and historical repayment data.

Since the pilot started in 2023, an average of 23% of direct loan customers qualified for the streamlined process, which decreased the application processing time by approximately eight calendar days. This resulted in improved access to credit for borrowers and increased efficiency for FSA staff.

AFT is currently available to all qualifying producers nationwide, and these changes simply transition AFT from a pilot program into a permanent part of FSA's regulations and policies. In addition to AFT, FSA is also making several changes to the direct loan collateral valuation process, which will expedite loan closings.

Streamlining for Preferred Lenders

FSA partners with credit unions, commercial banks, and farm credit organizations to deliver Guaranteed Loans, which help borrowers who cannot secure credit without a federal guarantee.

Through Guaranteed Loans, the financial institution makes the loan, but FSA guarantees the farm loan against possible financial loss, reducing the lender's risk.

FSA is further streamlining the process for lenders in the Preferred Lender Program, which includes the most experienced and highest-performing lending institutions. These lenders will have delegated authority to certify that applicants meet FSA lending requirements for creditworthiness, financial feasibility, and adequacy of collateral in place of a more detailed agency review. This streamlined process reduces documentation requirements and expedites loan processing. Preferred lenders will receive more information and guidance on exercising delegated authority in the new electronic system before it goes live in early 2027. However, preferred lenders can begin exercising delegated authority through traditional loan narratives starting Oct. 1, 2026.

Guaranteed Loan Modernization

USDA is modernizing outdated technology systems with the goal of expediting loan delivery. This multi-year effort will begin with the guaranteed loan program and later extend to all loan types.

The new modernized system will allow guaranteed loan applications, lender notifications and supporting documents to be electronically submitted, replacing the agency's largely paper-based process. Paper applications will still be accepted, and FSA will provide notifications consistent with the submission method.

FSA is making regulatory changes ahead of implementing the new modernized system and will provide more information and training for guaranteed lenders before transitioning to the electronic interface in early 2027.

For more information on farm loans, producers can visit fsa.usda.gov, view the Federal Register notice or use the Loan Assistance Tool to check eligibility requirements and find the right loan for their operation. Producers can also make an appointment online with their local FSA farm loan office for assistance.

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Franklin County USDA Service Center

107 Park St

Farmington, ME 04938

Phone: (207) 778-2788

Service Center Locator

FSA County Executive Director

David Culp, 207-778-2788 x2 david.culp3@usda.gov

NRCS District Conservationist

Nicholas Pairitz, 207-778-2788 x3 nicholas.pairitz@usda.gov

FSA Program Analyst

Kaitlyn Sargeant, 207-778-2788 x2 kaitlyn.sargeant@usda.gov

NRCS Natural Resource Specialist

Cody Kostro, 207-778-2788 x3 cody.kostro@usda.gov

FSA Acting Farm Loan Manager

Brenda Wells, 207-753-9400 x2 brenda.wells@usda.gov

NRCS Program Assistant

Danielle Stewart, 207-778-2788 x3 danielle.stewart@usda.gov

FSA County Committee

Tyler Jenness

Henry Hardy

Andrew Chase

Minority Advisor - Melissa Shea

SWCD Director

Caroline Collins, 207-778-4279

ccollins@franklincountyswcd.org

Next FSA County Committee Meeting:

December 11, 2026 @ 10:00 AM

Questions? Contact David Culp at david.culp3@usda.gov

Please contact David Culp at 207-778-2788 x2 or david.culp3@usda.gov to request accommodations (e.g. an interpreter, translator, seating arrangements, etc.) or materials in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape captioning, etc.).