Are you a retired FSA employee interested in coming back to work on a temporary part-time basis?
FSA is looking for up to 200 experienced individuals to assist with high workload demands. Dual compensation waivers may be available for re-employed annuitants. Duty stations are to be determined upon selection and may include telework.
To express interest and for more information, please email the following information to with the subject line “Reemployed Annuitant Information”:
• Your full name • State you last worked in • Position last held • Your retirement date • Duty location/s of interest
This morning, Web Transmittal 664 was posted. Below is an overview of the software updates implemented over the weekend:
Display Improvements:
The Farm Record’s Recent items on the left navigation has been changed to display the Admin County-Admin State-Farm Number instead of displaying the IBase number:
The Field Level Farm Hierarchy Display has been enhanced to expand upon selection so all field level attributes in the hierarchy can be seen and are not truncated. The farm hierarchy will only expand when a field is selected from the hierarchy list:
Modified Functionality:
The system will now allow a CCC-517 to redistribute bases between tract prior to a CCC-505 when a farm is out-of-balance. This will allow producers to adjust bases between tracts using the wizard before completing a permanent base reduction for the farm. This was an indicated pain point from county office staff and NASCOE.
The system will now calculate the CCC-505 CRP Reduction acres during a tract division. Reduction acres will be prorated to resulting tracts based on the number of CRP cropland acres each tract receives. Users will still need to enter a new CRP contract number in the wizard for the resulting tracts. Subparagraph 309 C, step 13G provides instructions for prorating CCC-505 CRP Reduction acres during a tract division. These steps will be amended with the next handbook update to indicate that the system will now perform the proration calculation in the wizard. All other instructions remain the same.
New Functionality:
Producer notification letters have been added to the “More” dropdown menu. Notification letters for owner and operator changes and boundary/acreage changes can now be generated when required according to 10-CM. The following four types of letters have been included, which are based off the notification letters in 10-CM with some modification to allow for the system generation in CRM:
Boundary and Acreage Change
Operator Change Notification Letter
Owner Change Notification Letter to Current/Prior Owners
Owner Change Notification Letter to Operator
Basic steps to generate a notification letter include:
Select the “More” drop down menu → Select “Producer Notification Letters”
Select the Notification Letter Type from the drop down menu
Select the applicable producer
Click “Producer Notification” icon to generate the letter
Additional guidance for the notification letters is forthcoming. This will be included in the next update to 10-CM.
As you are likely aware, the NASCOE Board of Directors recently met via conference call. The sole item of business was to consider how we should move forward with the 2020 National Convention in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. NASCOE finds itself in an unprecedented situation and the safety of our members and partners must be our number one concern. Additionally, NASCOE also has an obligation to limit the potential liability to our association. After much consideration, the Board of Directors voted to cancel the 2020 National Convention in Savannah, GA. This decision was not taken lightly, and we want to personally thank all the individual Board members (two from each state) for their preparation, diligence, and careful weighing of the choices.
NASCOE’s National Convention is primarily our annual business meeting. While we won’t able to conduct that face-to-face this year, we still plan on having an annual meeting in some fashion. Research has begun on alternatives to allow us to have a virtual meeting. The alternatives would facilitate our elections, area breakouts, committee updates, and as many of the business functions of the convention as possible. We’ll be engaging membership in how best to accomplish this and welcome your suggestions.
One can hardly count all the benefits that NASCOE brings, but fellowship and community are toward the top of the list. We know that it is disappointing that we won’t be able to see each other, share stories and enjoy each other’s company. However, these challenges won’t last forever and before you know it, we’ll all be together in Fort Wayne, IN for the 2021 convention. We will also get to experience the hospitality of Georgia, as they will now host us in Savannah in 2022.
Thank you all for everything you do and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Rick Csutoras and Curt Houk National Convention Co-Chairs
On April 17, 2020, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that USDA will use the funding and authorities provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), and other USDA existing authorities to fund the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). The program includes two major elements. Secretary Perdue provided the following details about the program aimed at assisting farmers and ranchers as they struggle from the effects of the pandemic:
$16 billion in direct payments for farmers and ranchers: funded using the $9.5 billion emergency program in the CARES Act and $6.5 billion in Credit Commodity Corporation (CCC) funding. The program will provide direct support based on actual losses for agricultural producers where prices and market supply chains have been impacted and will assist producers with additional adjustment and marketing costs resulting from lost demand and short-term oversupply for the 2020 marketing year caused by COVID-19.
$9.6 billion for the livestock industry
$5.1 billion for cattle
$2.9 billion for dairy
$1.6 billion for hogs
$3.9 billion for row crop producers
$2.1 billion for specialty crops producers
$500 million for other crops
Producers will receive a single direct payment determined using two calculations:
Price losses that occurred January 1-April 15, 2020. Producers will be compensated for 85% of price loss during that period.
Second part of the payment will be expected losses from April 15 through the next two quarters and will cover 30% of expected losses.
The payment limit is $125,000 per commodity with an overall limit of $250,000 per individual or entity. Qualified commodities must have experienced a 5% price decrease between January and April.
USDA is expediting the rule making process for the direct payment program and expects to begin sign-up for the new program in early May and to get payments out to producers by the end of May or early June.
$3 billion in purchases of agriculture products: including meat, dairy and produce to support producers and provide food to those in need. USDA will partner with local food and regional distributors to deliver food to food banks, as well as community and faith-based organizations to provide food to those in need. USDA will begin with the procurement of an estimated $100 million per month in fresh fruits and vegetables, $100 million per month in a variety of dairy products, and $100 million per month in meat products. The distributors and wholesalers will then provide a pre-approved box of fresh produce, dairy, and meat products to be distributed by these partner organizations to those in need.
USDA will also utilize other available funding sources to purchase and distribute food to those in need:
USDA has up to an additional $873.3 million available in Section 32 funding to purchase a variety of agricultural products for distribution to food banks. The use of these funds will be determined by industry requests, USDA agricultural market analysis, and food bank needs.
The FFCRA and CARES Act provided an at least $850 million for food bank administrative costs and USDA food purchases, of which a minimum of $600 million will be designated for food purchases. The use of these funds will be determined by food bank need and product availability.
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or the(CARES Act)
Neil Burnette and Clint Bain, Legislative Committee Co-Chairs
In response
to the national crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress has passed a
massive stimulus package assisting both businesses and individuals. The
stimulus package will impact the Farm Service Agency and our NASCOE membership.
Below is a brief
summary of these provisions:
The bill provides $3 million for hiring temporary staff and paying for overtime expenses at the Farm Service Agency to prevent, prepare for and respond to the coronavirus.
The bill includes a $14 billion boost in funding authority for USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation.
The legislation provides $9.5 billion for assisting livestock operations, including dairy farmers, as well as fruit-and-vegetable (specialty) crop producers. Farmers who sell directly to farmers markets, schools and restaurants would also be eligible for aid.
The bill allows the Secretary of Agriculture to extend the term of a marketing assistance loans for any commodity to 12 months. The authority will expire September 30th, 2020.
The stimulus package provides payments to individuals based on your 2018 or 2019 adjusted gross income. The maximum amount you can receive is $1,200, or if married filing jointly, $2,400 per couple. That amount phases out for single filers with an AGI between $75,000 and $99,000, joint filers with an AGI between $150,000 and $198,000 and heads of household with an AGI between $112,500 and $146,500. Those who qualify for the $1,200 credit will also receive an additional $500 for each qualifying dependent 16 years old or younger. The stimulus money is technically a tax credit for 2020 that will be paid out, in advance, as soon as possible. Individuals with direct deposits established with the IRS could see these deposits within a couple of weeks.
The Legislative team has been closely following
this process and we will monitor how the department responds to these
opportunities as a result of the increased funding. We will provide additional information as it
becomes available.
It’s hard to describe what a confusing and stressful time these last couple of weeks have been for all of us. The news concerning the COVID-19 Pandemic has turned ever more alarming and I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that this has created lots of anxiety. We find ourselves worried about interactions with our producers, our co-workers, and even our high-risk family members. As USDA has been balancing service to our producers with employee health and safety, concerns have rapidly mounted. We have been working with FSA leadership to share these worries and issues and would like to take some time now to share where we are today.
The absolute greatest concern we all have is for the health and safety of ourselves, our families, and our producers. All week long, CED’s and PTs have been calling, e-mailing, and texting NASCOE representatives conveying concerns about interacting with the public in our offices and we in turn have shared these concerns with management. The Department initially responded by implementing a screening tool to try and assess our producers before they entered our offices. As this became inadequate, we shifted to limiting visitors. Now, beginning this week, FSA will be prohibiting visitors from entering any USDA Service Center. As the calls for social distancing increased, NASCOE also heard worries about whether employees would be safe amongst themselves in the same building. We shared these concerns with leadership as well. Beginning this week, FSA will be limiting the number of employees in the service center to decrease our possible exposure with each other. Alternative working arrangements may be made for employees who have dependents at home or who certify to being high-risk.
Of course, prohibiting visitors and limiting employees in the Service Center influences customer service. Agriculture is integral to our survival and it is critical that USDA continues to serve our producers to the greatest extent possible. We also know from feedback that we heard during the recent government furlough that everyone wants to continue to work rather than fall further behind. To meet this need, the agency is authorizing FSA employees to telework in certain circumstances. We know this involves being both telework ready and having meaningful work that can be done remotely. Telework is relatively new to most of us and we know there are a lot of questions on how this will work. Once again, we have been sharing these concerns with management. New telework arrangements won’t be ideal or efficient, but they do present some opportunities to continue servicing our producers during this very tough agricultural climate. More important, it is good to know we can service our producers and feel safer than we did a week ago. For those employees who are directed to be out of the office but can’t telework, administrative weather and safety leave is available.
Finally, the situation has been changing very rapidly. We are aware that not every employee in every state is receiving the same message. We have expressed to management the importance of consistent communication. Last Friday, FSA held a conference call for all employee associations. This call was very much appreciated by the NASCOE leadership. NASCOE members should be receiving these notes via email shortly. The agency has also committed to having more of these conference calls as the situation changes. Questions about the new status of FSA employees are common and, in some cases, folks are still looking for answers. In an effort to respond to our membership’s needs during this challenging time, NASCOE has put together a page on our website to provide information about policy that management has presented to state offices. On this page you will find guidelines, notes, frequently asked questions, updates on agency actions and links to websites. This page will be continually updated with new information. You can find this website at: https://nascoe.org/nascoe-covid-19-resources/
NASCOE stands ready to help its members and looks forward to hearing your comments concerns as this unprecedented situation moves forward.
I know there is a lot of conflicting information nationwide concerning FSA’s recent guidance on employee teleworking. NASCOE has been in regular contact with the agency and they are sharing the employee friendly measures they are implementing while balancing USDA’s need to continue serving our producers. Unfortunately, some of our fellow employees in the field are not receiving this news.
This week during the employee association meeting with management, it became apparent that the office of the Deputy Administrator for Field Operations (DAFO) has listened to NASCOE membership’s concerns about our safety and well being. In response, they have worked very hard to provide flexibility to help our employees and farmers work through this unprecedented tough spell. At this meeting, NASCOE expressed concerns over the inconsistency in some State Offices sharing and implementing these measures. I was proud to hear the National Association of District Directors (NADD) speak up and stand tall with NASCOE and reiterate the need for consistency in messaging. Both organizations did what they were supposed to do, advocate for their members.
Communication and consistency are key in these troubled times. While we are hopeful that agency response becomes more steady in the future, NASCOE will work to educate our membership on the guidance as we understand it.
Later this weekend, NASCOE will be providing an update on how we have been navigating through these uncharted waters as we serve our PT’s and CED’s. We will also continue to seek changes where needed, provide clarification, useful tools, and policy updates as they become available.
I want to thank each one of you for your support of NASCOE, it means a lot.
NASCOE has been in communication with management over Departmental directives which were issued to all FSA employees late Friday evening.
It has been confirmed that, unless prior leave arrangements have been made, FSA employees should report to work this week per approved and normal work schedules so they can review and be brought up to speed on the latest guidance.
NASCOE has, and will continue to express concerns of county office employees regarding this unprecedented situation to management.
Many of you have been watching the news and following the development of the Coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID‑19. In just the last few days, we’ve seen many events get cancelled, such as the Farm Bureau Leadership Conference in Kentucky and the Houston Livestock show and Rodeo. Sporting leagues are canceling games or ending their seasons early. These cancellations are disruptive and inconvenient, but they are being cancelled out of an abundance of caution for everyone’s safety. NASCOE and our affiliates are unfortunately required to make similar difficult decisions.
We encourage you to read the following important update on NASCOE Events from NASCOE President, Brandon Wilson.
The NASCOE Leadership team anticipates updating membership with additional information as the status of the COVID-19 outbreak evolves.
One of the more important values that NASCOE provides to its membership, is the collection of input on processes that affect programs, customer service and working conditions. As needed, management will engage NASCOE by asking for names of participants from the field, who can help provide a perspective on how policy might look.
Previously,
NASCOE has negotiated with management, through the NASCOE negotiations process,
for the creation of a Shared Management Task force. Recently, the national office has committed
to improving resources available to shared management operations by preparing
for the implementation phase of the negotiated task force. This task force will take ideas from CED’s
and PT’s in the field and help mold a model of guidance and available tools to
assist shared management operations. All
ideas are on the table.
In
addition to the Shared Management Task Force, the national office is preparing
to create a County Committee (COC) Training task force. This task force will be charged with
improving the functionality of COC roles and responsibilities. The group will assist in developing a training
program for COC members so that they know and understand their very important everyday
roles and responsibilities in program and human resource matters. In addition to the creation of a COC training
program, a similar effort will be launched to refresh State Committee
training.
Both Task
forces are equally important, and both impact CO employees in the field. To make these initiatives successful, NASCOE
needs YOUR help. NASCOE has been charged
with finding a handful of good solid county office employees to help fill
positions on both task forces. If you
think you can help out, we need you to tell us some information in a short, written
format:
If
you are a CED or a PT
The
task force in which you would like to participate
What
relevant experience and qualifications you have (pertinent to the task forces)
Why
you are interested in participating -AND if you think you have solutions to
make the effort succeed.
These
duties will be on official time. Travel
may be possible but will probably be limited.
Participation will most likely be by teleconference and kept to a couple
hours a week or several hours per month until the task is finished. To participate you must have your CED or COC
approval to participate.
The
deadline to submit your name to participate is Sunday, March 15, 2020. Entries and questions shall be emailed to the
following address: .
Task force positions will be limited, therefore NASCOE will be reviewing
your written submissions to help decide who will be chosen to help-out. Members who are not selected to be on the
primary task force will still be engaged.
They will be included in a group that will provide input and ideas for the
main task force.
I want to
close by thanking you for your involvement in NASCOE. Your membership creates wonderful
opportunities for COF employees to participate in initiatives that improve
customer service and make their workplace better. NASCOE look forward to hearing from
interested members who would like to lend a hand and help make processes
better.
