There is a signup deadline for former tobacco quota holders coming up in a little more than 30 days. Cliff Moore Chief Agricultural Program Specialist of the Production Adjustment Division of the North Carolina Farm Service Agency explains:
“Anyone you may not have ever signed up for the Tobacco Buy-out program, November 1st is the deadline for those particular persons whether they are a producer or a quota holder to sign up for the Tobacco and Transition Payment Program, in other words, the Tobacco Buy-out program, and that is in order to get the 2011 payment which is paid in January of next year.”
November 1st is also another important deadline in regarding the Tobacco Buy-out program:
“Now, the other significant thing about November 1st, and this is probably more important for people to know, is November 1st is the deadline for family transfers, for a family member to transfer a contract to another family member. And if you want to know what’s the definition of a family member, your local Farm Service Agency has a handbook that has a definition of what a family member is…basically a blood relative.”
Also, Moore says if someone is receiving a tobacco buy-out disbursement and passes away, there’s steps that need to be taken as soon as possible:
“It’s real important to contact the Farm Service Agency Office, if there has been a death in your family if they had a tobacco contract, it’s real important to provide a Death Certificate as well as any kind of estate papers or those kind of things to the County Office, because they won’t know that that person is deceased unless the family members tell them. There’s been situations where payments have been made to deceased producers, and that money has to be paid back, and it’s a real headache on the county offices, and it’s a real headache on the heirs of the estate.”
For more information on making changes to your tobacco buy-out settlement contact your local FSA office.
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