Posted 09/25/2020

North Dakota Stockmen’s Association Member Update: Sept. 25, 2020

The North Dakota Stockmen’s Association (NDSA) is proud to be the voice of the state’s beef cattle producers. Here are a few things you should know:

Under Secretary Ibach coming to speak at the NDSA Annual Convention

The NDSA is very excited to announce that Gregory Ibach, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) under secretary of marketing and regulatory programs, will be speaking at the NDSA’s 91st Annual Convention & Trade Show, “Roaring into the ‘20s,” on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Ramkota in Bismarck. Under Secretary Ibach will be talking about the Packers & Stockyards Division’s cattle market investigation and USDA’s report that was released in July. In his role, Ibach oversees Marketing and Regulatory Program agencies, which include the Agricultural Marketing Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration. Be on hand to visit with USDA’s second-in-charge firsthand about important issues impacting the beef industry. Registration information can be found here. Registration forms are also inserted in the middle of the September North Dakota Stockman magazine.

Department of Trust Lands postpones fall surface lease auctions

Yesterday, the North Dakota Land Board voted to postpone the fall surface lease auctions, which had been scheduled to begin in an online format on Sept. 28. An error in the public notice process prompted the change. The North Dakota Department of Trust Lands (DTL) still intends to hold the auctions this fall online, not face to face, the agency said. Those who have registered already with EnergyNet do not need to do so again in order to participate in the auctions when they are conducted later. For more information, call EnergyNet at (806) 463-3621 or (877) 351-4488 or visit www.energynet.com/page/How_to_Bid. For questions about specific tracts, contact the DTL at (701) 328-2800 or dtlsurface@nd.gov.

Interim Natural Resource Committee advances bill drafts

In its final meeting today, the Interim Natural Resource Committee advanced three bill drafts that will be considered in the upcoming North Dakota Legislative Session. The bills pertain to the land access study and trespass laws in North Dakota. Among the concepts reflected in the bills are expanding the land access electronic posting effort to include all counties, allowing for penalties for trespass on electronically posted land, allowing landowners to decide if they want their names on physically posted signs and clarifying existing law that a person may not enter or remain in any place enclosed by a fence or otherwise enclosed as manifestly to exclude intruders.

Thorne named Country Woman of the Year

Congratulations to 2020 Country Woman of the Year Calli Thorne of Watford City. The title was bestowed on the NDSA District 5 director, rancher, businesswoman, Mary Kay professional, motivational speaker, industry advocate and mom at a ceremony hosted by the Bismarck Tribune yesterday. Among Thorne’s prizes: a cash gift for herself and another for the charitable organization/program of her choice. She picked the NDSA's Tomorrow's Top Hands Beef Leadership Summit as the recipient of the $2,500 gift sponsored by the North Dakotans for Comprehensive Energy Solutions. The NDSA salutes Thorne, this year’s finalists and the past winners – many of whom are NDSA members – and all those women who report to work each day to put food on the world’s table. To read more, click here.

More details available for Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2.0

Last week, President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2.0 (CFAP 2.0), which will provide assistance to producers who continue to face market disruptions and additional costs due to COVID-19. Sign-up, which is being conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency, continues through Dec. 11.

Payments for beef cattle will be based on the maximum owned inventory of eligible livestock, excluding breeding stock, on a date selected by the producer, between April 16 and Aug. 31, 2020, multiplied by $55 per head. Here are some other Frequently Asked Questions about CFAP 2.0:

Livestock payments

Q: How will CFAP 2.0 cattle assistance payments be calculated?

A: CFAP 2.0 payments are structured similarly to the CFAP 1.0, Part 2, inventory payments, but at an increased rate of $55 per head. Payments can be calculated by multiplying the highest owned inventory of eligible livestock – on a date selected by the eligible producer from April 16 through Aug. 31, 2020 – by the $55-per-head rate.

Q: Should CFAP 1.0 payments be factored into CFAP 2.0’s payment calculation?

A: No. USDA has determined that CFAP 1.0 and CFAP 2.0 are separate programs. As such, CFAP 1.0 payments have no bearing on how CFAP 2.0 payments will be calculated, and two separate payment limits will be in effect.

Q: If a producer received a CFAP 1.0 inventory payment on an animal retained during the April 16 – Aug. 31 window, can that animal be included as part of the CFAP 2.0 calculation?

A: Yes.

Q: What animals are eligible for CFAP 2.0 cattle assistance payments?

A: All marketable animals are eligible for inclusion in inventory, including 2020-born calves and replacement stock intended for breeding, such as females that have not produced offspring and males that have not started breeding females.

Q: Are breeding stock eligible?

A: No. Breeding stock such as cows and bulls are not eligible for CFAP 2.0. Cull cows are also not eligible.

Application process

Q: When does CFAP 2.0 sign-up start and end?

A: Producers may apply for CFAP 2.0 from Sept. 21 to Dec. 11, 2020, through their local Farm Service Agency office or online at www.farmers.gov/cfap/apply.

Q: How can producers apply for CFAP 2.0?

A: Farm Service Agency offers multiple ways to apply, including online or manually completing the application form or by filling out the application form with a payment calculator. More information can be found on www.farmers.gov/cfap/apply.

Q: If a producer applied for CFAP 1.0, do they still need to apply for CFAP 2.0? What about producers who did not apply for or receive CFAP 1.0 payments?

A: CFAP 2.0 is a separate program. Producers will not automatically be signed up because they applied or received a payment under CFAP 1.0 and will therefore still need to apply. There is no requirement to participate in CFAP 1.0 in order to participate in CFAP 2.0.

Q: What documents do cattle producers need to submit with their application?

A: To complete the CFAP 2.0 application, producers will need to reference their sales, inventory and other records. CFAP 2.0 is a self-certification program, and producers may be subject to review and spot check.