Richland Parish farmers who planted acreage of small grains such as wheat or oats for harvest in 2009 are encouraged to file an acreage report with the Richland Parish Farm Service Agency Office by April 15.

Doug Davidson, County Executive Director for the Richland Parish Farm Service Agency, said that producers are not required to report planted acreage to the Farm Service Agency unless they will participate in the Commodity Loan Program or the Loan Deficiency Payment Program.

Producers participating in the Direct & Counter-Cyclical Payment Program must certify planted acreage of small grains to FSA by the established small grain reporting deadline of April 15.

The Richland Parish FSA Office encourages crop acreage certification and will accept acreage reports from all producers who wish to report crop acreage for any purpose. After the April 15 deadline to certify small grain acreage, if a producer decides he wants to use the loan program or if a Loan Deficiency Payment is applicable, evidence of the crop acreage must exist and the producer must pay for a field visit to verify acreage.

Any Richland Parish farmer having questions or needing additional information regarding crop acreage reporting requirements should contact the Richland Parish FSA Office prior to the small grain reporting deadline of April 15.