The Farm Service Agency is continuing to enroll farms into the 2010 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program through June 1. However, the 2008 Farm Bill specifically eliminated farms with a less than 10-acre base from receiving DCP program benefits.

This action is difficult for FSA staff to explain to producers, and producers are disturbed by the 2008 ruling prohibiting small acreage base farms from receiving benefits under DCP. But there is one exception to the 10-acre base rule. It's for socially disadvantaged or limited resource producers. The exception permits eligibility if the farm is owned by a socially disadvantaged or limited resource farm owner, regardless of who is the farm operator.

For the most part, producers of farms with less than 10 base acres are out of luck with DCP enrollment.

Base acres are the average reported acres of a grain crop to the FSA for the years 1998 to 2001. It is possible for a farm with 100 cropland acres to only have a five-acre corn base. The entire 100 acres could have been reported and planted to a grain crop the last five years and the DCP base would still only be five acres. Producers have not been able to update base acres under provisions of the last two Farm Bills. Now, not only can bases not be updated, but also, any farm with less than 10 acres cannot earn DCP benefits.

The 10-acre base rule affects about 35 percent of all eligible farms in our three-county service area. As we see it, the only two options to qualify for DCP are qualifying for the socially disadvantaged or limited resource provision or combining a farm with a less than 10-acre base with another FSA farm so the combined base acreage will exceed 10 acres.

Two or more farms can be combined, but it is up to the farm operator to decide.

Essentially, a farm combination only means several different tracts of land are combined under one farm number for FSA program purposes. Producers who do want to combine farms should contact FSA soon to inquire about the process and determine the DCP benefits that could be gained.

Elder A. Vogel Sr. of New Sewickley, Beaver County, was elected chairman for the FSA County Committee that covers Butler, Beaver and Allegheny counties during its recent reorganization meeting.Elected vice chairman was Norman Graham of Connoquenessing Township. Regular members are H. George Hartzell of Slippery Rock Township, Jeffrey L. Kennedy of Penn Township and Virginia Strouss of Findlay Township, Allegheny County. Pearl Studebaker of Slippery Rock Township serves as the county committee adviser.The FSA County Committee makes decisions on commodity price support loans and payments, establishment of yields, farmer loans, conservation programs, incentive, indemnity, and disaster payments for some commodities and other farm disaster assistance.Luke Fritz is executive director of the Butler County Farm Service Agency.