Now that the majority of crops have been planted, producers need to contact FSA to complete an acreage report for their farms. The deadline to report small grains is June 15; the deadline to report corn, soybeans, hay, vegetables, fruit and CREP land is July 16.

Aerial photos can be requested via mail, and then the reports can be completed at home and returned by mail or in person to the office. Once again this year planting dates are a required entry. It normally takes about 20 minutes to complete an acreage report for a farm.

Some producers feel more comfortable completing their reports at the office while others prefer to do theirs at home.

Either way is acceptable, the important thing is to get it done. Sometimes a future program depends upon previous year's reported crop acres. This is almost a guaranteed certainty with the current farm programs due to expire this year.

The current Farm Bill which authorizes farm programs could be extended for a year or two or an entire new Farm Bill could be enacted. That is why it is always a good idea to file an acreage report.

No one can predict what might be coming down the road in the way of farm programs. We have some producers who file an acreage report each year just so documentation is on file of the crops produced for the IRS.

Producers who are participating in current FSA programs are required to report all crop and land uses on cropland acres on their farm. Most participating producers have a system developed that permits timely accurate reports in very few minutes.

For those producers who are unsure of the acres in each field, FSA measurement service is available. Acres can be measured on the farm using a mobile GPS unit or from the office using 2006 satellite digital imagery.

Contact the office for farm specific rates. If measurement service has been requested prior to the acreage reporting deadline, the measured acreage is considered to be filed on time even if the actual measurement occurs after the reporting deadline.

Luke Fritz is executive director of the Butler County Farm Service Agency.