Clock ticking on sign up for camelina incentive program
Washington Ag Today August 31, 2011 Eastern Washington farmers who would like to try the oilseed crop camelina, and get an incentive payment for doing so, only have until September 16th to sign up for the Farm Service Agency’s Biomass Crop Assistance Program. Rod Hamilton with the Washington State FSA Office says the sign up period is not the best for producers here. Hamilton: “Well we are not getting a whole lot of activity. We are starting to get some questions from producers who have heard enough about it to ask some questions. Unfortunately the way it ended up being announced late in the year and that combined with the late harvest in much of eastern Washington, has resulted in unfortunate timing for this particular sign up.” Hamilton says there are two sources of revenue for participating growers. Hamilton: “One is income from the sale of the camelina to a facility that is converting it to energy, and the second is a support payment from FSA that is similar to a CRP rental payment.” FSA will however deduct ten percent of the sales proceeds from the camelina from their payment. Across eastern Washington counties the FSA payment rate per acre ranges from a low of around $50 dollars to a high of $101. The only eastern Washington counties not eligible for the program are Yakima, Klickitat and Kittitas. For more info check with your local FSA office. Again the sign up deadline is September 16th. Officials say this may be the only sign up opportunity. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Aginfo Net. ? ?
