June 15 is the last day to timely report planted acreage of wheat, barley, and oats.

All program participants are required to file acreage reports for operated land - even though all farms may not be participating in a program. Producers can call the office to schedule an appointment or request aerial photographs of their farms be mailed to them to report acres.

Corn, hay, soybeans, vegetables and all other cropland uses must be reported by July 15.

Many producers are experiencing a difficult time completing planting this spring due to excessive rainfall. In some cases, even though the deadline is several days away, they are calling and reporting that they can't get to the office by the July 15.

The important item to remember in acreage reporting is the farmer's responsibility - failure to file a timely report will result in a late fee applicable on a farm by farm bases. With that being said, if it becomes apparent that a farmer can't visit the office to report, please call 724-775-2369 or 724-482-4800.

Staff will be in the Beaver County satellite office on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Crop and acreage reporting is necessary for many programs and it's a good way to maintain historical records. Certified acreage reports are tools used by the county office to determine compliance with certain farm programs and, perhaps, the eligibility level in future programs.

Throughout farm program history, complied acreage data has been used to develop new and better farm programs while providing farmers with valuable statistical data.

Measurement service can be requested by a producer to determine exact acreage for reporting purposes. A paid measurement service effectively guarantees the producer official acreage's for the crops on which the service is performed.

Trained field personnel at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) are beginning to use Global Positional Systems (GPS) that utilize satellite information to measure crop acreage's. This is one of the ways FSA is offering producers state of the art measurement technology to create a more useful data base of information that farmers can use to improve their productivity and efficiency

All payments issued by the county FSA office will be by direct deposit (electronic funds transfer) to a pre-designated checking or savings account with your financial institution.Forms are available at the FSA office to sign up for direct deposit if you haven't yet. For those already signed up, it is important that we are notified any time there is a change in your account number or financial institution. If we aren't notified, future payments can be delayed or lost for a period of time.Luke Fritz is executive director of the Butler County Farm Service Agency.