Deadline approaches for farmers to request reconstitution

The final date to request a 2004 reconstitution from the Aitkin-Itasca Farm Service Agency is Aug. 2.

Producers must sign a FSA-155 before Aug. 2 for the FSA office to accept it. A farm reconstitution is done when part of the farm has been sold or ownership changes. If 2004 direct payments have been issued on the farm, the reconstitution will be effective for 2005, unless payments are refunded.

Any change in a farm's owner or operator must be reported to the FSA to update the constitution of a farm.

When a tract is divided from a farm, DCP base acres may be allocated to the resulting farms using either "estate," "designation by landowner" or "default" method.

* The estate method divides DCP base according to the provisions of a will or agreement.

* The designation by landowner method applies in cases where a farm is sold or ownership is transferred. DCP base acres are divided according to a signed written agreement between the owner of the parent farm and the purchaser or transferee. This agreement must be filed before the farm is reconstituted or there is any subsequent transfer of ownership.

* The default method divides DCP bases acres according to how they were previously assigned at the tract level.

For more information, stop in or call the Aitkin-Itasca FSA office at (218) 927-2912. The office is 1.1 miles south of the stoplights in Aitkin, off Highway 169.