Month: July 2017

Double Down on Local, Fresh Produce with the Double Up Food Bucks Program!

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The Double Up Food Bucks program is part of a nation-wide initiative to help low-income people using the SNAP benefit to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables.

Anyone currently participating the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and holding an EBT card is automatically eligible for the Double Up program.

At a participating grocery store, whenever an eligible person purchases fresh produce, they will earn $1 in Double Up Food Bucks for every dollar spent, up to $20 per day.

At a participating farmer’s market, the eligible person simply swipes their EBT card at the manager’s booth for SNAP tokens, and will earn Double Up Food Bucks at the same time.

These four Lincoln locations are currently participating:
• Old Cheney Road Farmers Market, 55th and Old Cheney Road
• Fallbrook Farmers Market, 570 Fallbrook Blvd
• Community Crops Veggie Van, 2301 O St
• Leon’s Gourmet Grocer, 2200 Winthrop Rd

The current phase of this program will last until May 31, 2018.

 

For more information, please visit: http://food.unl.edu/DoubleUp or www.DoubleUpNebraska.org

USDA Allows for Emergency Grazing and Haying in Drought-stricken Areas

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On July 20, 2017, the USDA authorized the use of additional Conservation Reserve Program lands for emergency haying and grazing in drought-stricken areas in Montana and the Dakotas that have reached D2, or severe drought level or greater on the U.S. Drought Monitor.

This also includes counties with any part of their border that is within 150 miles of authorized counties in the three states may also be eligible for emergency grazing. This includes areas in Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Iowa.

All emergency grazing must end by September 30, while all emergency haying must end by August 31. Any landowners who are interested should contact their local Farm Service Agency office and meet their local Natural Resources Conservations Service staff to get a modified conservation plan in place.

 

For more information, please visit: www.fsa.usda.gov/emergency-hayandgraze

To view the press release, please visit: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/state-offices/Nebraska/news-releases/2017/stnr_ne_20170720_rel_06

Have You Enrolled in ARC/PLC for 2017?

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Today the Nebraska FSA Acting State Executive Director Mike Sander issued a statement reminding farmers and ranchers that the deadline for enrollment in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2017 crop year is August 1st, 2017

Agriculture Risk Coverage provides loss coverage at the county level when actual county crop revenue is less than the guarantee.

Price Loss Coverage provides coverage when the effective price of a crop is less than the respective reference price.

A wide range of crops may be covered under these programs, including: barley, corn, oats, rice, soybeans, and wheat.

If you have not yet enrolled, please call or visit your local FSA office. Find your local office at: https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app

 

For more information, please visit: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/arcplc_program/index

Nebraska’s NextGen Tax Credit Program

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The NextGen Tax Credit Program is a program administered by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture that seeks to help beginning farmers and ranchers establish a longer-term relationship with existing farmers and ranchers.

By using a tax incentive, the NextGen program hopes to increase the odds of turning beginning farmers/rancher into established farmers/ranchers.

To qualify as a beginning farmer/rancher, you must be a resident of Nebraska for at least six months, have less than $175,000 in net worth, must have farmed/ranched for less than 10 of the last 15 years, and meet certain education/experience and labor requirements. Furthermore, the owner of the land must be an individual or business entity that is eligible to receive the tax credit.

Benefits for the beginning farmer include: a three-year lease instead of year-to-year, up to $500 tax credit reimbursement for a required financial management class, and the beginning farmer may apply for the Personal Property Tax Exemption.

Benefits for the owner include a tax credit of 10% of the value of the cash rent, or 15% of the value of the share crop rent.

For more information, please see our handout, or contact Karla Bahm at 800.446.4071 or email at karla.bahm@nebraska.gov

To apply, please visit http://www.nextgen.nebraska.gov/

 

 

 

New 16-hour Certificate Offered by NCTA

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The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture was recently approved for a new undergraduate certificate in agriculture. According to their June 30 press release, the certificate was created for “college students majoring in a non-agricultural disciplines, high school students seeking a dual credit program in agriculture, or working professionals wanting to upgrade their agricultural competence.”

The certificate is administered via online courses, as well as through dual-enrollment with local high schools.

For more information, please visit: http://ncta.unl.edu/news-releases/ncta-16-hour-ag-certificate-approved