Although there seemed to be a lot of confusion over Tuesday's deadline for DCP enrollment, it is important for producers to remember that June 15 is the final day to report planted acres of wheat, oats, barley or rye that will be harvested for grain.

Small grain crops that will be harvested as forage can be reported to the Farm Service Agency up to July 15, which is the final day to report all crop and land uses to FSA for all other crops, including hay, corn, soybeans, fruits and vegetables, and for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).

It would be much easier on everyone if there was just one deadline, but at this point that does not seem possible. It was requested on numerous occasions, but the FSA national office rejected the idea.

Aerial photos can be requested via mail, and then they can be completed at home and returned by mail or in person to the office. Once again, planting dates are a required entry this year. It normally takes only about 20 minutes to complete an acreage report for a farm. Some producers feel more comfortable completing their report at the office while others prefer to do theirs at home.

Either way is acceptable. The important thing is to get it done. Sometimes a future program depends upon a previous year's reported crop acres. We have some producers who file an acreage report each year just so documentation is on file of the crops produced, for the Internal Revenue Service. The FSA currently has aerial digital imagery that is in color, which makes acreage reporting easier than in previous years.

Producers who are participating in current FSA programs are required to report all crop and land uses on cropland acres on their farm. Most participating producers have a system developed that permits timely and accurate reports in very little time.

For those producers who are unsure of the acres in each field, FSA measurement service is available.

Acres can be measured on the farm using a mobile GPS unit or from the office using 2008 satellite digital imagery. Contact the office for farm-specific rates.

If measurement service has been requested before the acreage reporting deadline, the measured acreage is considered filed on time, even if the actual measurement occurs after the reporting deadline.

Luke Fritz is executive director of the Butler County Farm Service Agency.