Farm Service Agency Administrator Juan Garcia announced recently that the sign-up period for the 2011 crop year Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program had opened Oct. 22.
The SURE program is part of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill).
Under the 2008 Farm Bill, SURE authorizes assistance to farmers and ranchers who suffered crop losses caused by natural disasters occurring through Sept. 30, 2011.
County Executive Director of the DeKalb/Cannon County Farm Service Agency Donny Green said he wants producers to be aware of this signup so they are certain to visit their FSA county office to file a crop year 2011 SURE program payment application no later than June 7, 2013. 
Since DeKalb/Cannon counties received a disaster designation in 2011, producers who obtained an insurance policy or plan of insurance for all 2011 crops (except grazing crops), or meet waiver provisions as socially disadvantaged, limited resource, or beginning farmers and suffered at least a 10 percent production loss, due to a natural disaster, to at least one crop may be eligible if all other payment conditions are met.
Producers considered socially disadvantaged, a beginning farmer or rancher, or a limited resource farmer may be eligible for SURE without a policy or plan of insurance or NAP coverage.
 SURE payments are calculated based on 60 percent of the difference between the SURE Disaster Program Guarantee and the Total Farm Revenue.
A limit of $100,000 applies to the combination of payments from SURE and the livestock disaster programs. 
Producers who do not file a 2011 SURE program payment application by June 7, 2013 will not be considered eligible for 2011 SURE program payments.
For more information about this program, contact the DeKalb/Cannon County FSA office at 615-597-8225 or visit the Farm Service Agency’s website at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/sure.