FSA certification map packets available

Packets for farmers to use to certify their 2012 crops are available at the county office, the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Hill County Farm Service Agency executive director said Wednesday.

Director Mike Zook said the packets are for agricultural producers who are participating in, or are interested in participating in, USDA programs. During certification, agricultural producers list on their maps what they've seeded, what the seeding date was, and the intended use of the crop, including native range for grazing.

The county office will be setting appointments to help producers meet the July 16 deadline for certification, Zook said.

"We hope this will help everyone involved, " he said. "We're moving towards a new web-based system of reporting acreage and will be eliminating redundancies in an effort to be more efficient and cost effective with our producers' time and taxpayers' money.

"There are always ways to improve the process, " Zook added.