Alpaca open house, Farm Bill deadline set

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Stevens Llama Tique farm tour

WORTHINGTON — The Stevens Llama Tique will host an Alpaca open house and farm tour from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The event is part of a nationwide Alpaca open house and farm tour.

Visitors to the Stevens farm will get to view alpaca moms and babies, visit a gift shop with alpaca socks, blankets, raw fleece, yarn, teddy bears and garments available for sale, and enjoy free refreshments.

Their farm is located five miles south of Worthington on U.S. 59.

For more information, call Judy and Loren Stevens at 376-4230.

Farm Bill program deadline Sept. 30

ST. PAUL — The final date to initiate a 2008 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP) contract with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is Sept. 30.

The 2008 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program had a late start due to the enactment of the Farm Bill on June 18. FSA started DCP enrollment on June 25. Final 2008 Direct DCP payments will be issued in early October to farmers and landowners with approved DCP contracts.

FSA electronic eDCP service allows ag producers to enroll in DCP online. Producers can choose DCP payment options, assign crop shares and sign and submit their contracts from any computer with Internet access. Producers no longer have to travel to their local FSA office to complete these tasks and can view and print out submitted contract options at any time. For more information about DCP, visit http://www. fsa.usda.gov/edcp.

Farmers apply for investment grants

ST. PAUL — Nearly 600 Minnesota livestock producers have applied for a Minnesota Department of Agriculture livestock investment grant to help them offset the cost of improving or expanding their operations. Earlier this year, the legislature allocated $1 million in grants to help livestock producers maintain or enhance their operations.

Livestock producers had from July 1 to Sept. 15 to apply for the grant assistance, and those qualifying will be reimbursed 10 percent of the first $500,000 of their investment, with a minimum investment of $4,000.

The grant will not pay for the cost of purchasing land, livestock or the cost of debt refinancing.

Grants applications are now under review, with selections made by Oct. 30.

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