Top 3 Things Alaska Farmers Need to Know About the Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment Program
By Colin Peacock, Co-Director Regional Food Business Center, AFPC
Last week we hosted a webinar on the Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment Program (RTCP), the first of many training opportunities that our Alaska Regional Food Business Center will be hosting. This program is an incredible money-saving opportunity for Alaskan farmers and ranchers to get a fixed amount of their transportation costs reimbursed by the USDA. We are highlighting it as Alaska has the largest number of new farmers anywhere in the nation, and the majority of them are not participating in it– which is literally leaving money on the table. Any farmer or rancher who sells ANY amount of local crops, livestock products, honey/insect products, aquaculture, hay, fiber, feed, or horticulture (including trees) can be eligible for these reimbursements.
This RTCP 101 Webinar is a chance to learn baseline-level information about establishing your farm/business with USDA. You can watch the full video here.
Here's a breakdown of the key takeaways:
1. Save your transportation receipts!
This program helps offset the burden of high transportation costs for Alaskan farmers. You can get reimbursed for transporting your agricultural commodities (like crops, livestock, or aquaculture) or the inputs you need to produce them (like feed or fertilizer). But you have to have records of gas, shipping, et cetera to do so.
2. Get your farm registered now! Talk to the farm service agency to get started!
If you're a farmer or rancher in Alaska, you're in luck! The RTCP program is open to geographically disadvantaged producers in several areas, including Alaska. There are some additional eligibility requirements, so be sure to check those out (see below).
Follow this link to get started.
3. Enrollment is open but time-bound:
The application period for the 2023 fiscal year is closed (it ran from July 10th to September 29th, 2023). However, we hope that by watching this webinar you can get a jump start on saving your receipts, and registering with the FSA so you are ready for when enrollment opens again.
You can find more information and updates on the USDA website https://fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/price-support/RTCP-Program/index
If you have any questions about the RTCP program, reach out to Chris Dickinson at: chris.dickinson@usda.gov or 907-761-7772.
We're Here to Help!
This was our first technical assistance webinar offered as part of the Alaska Regional Food Business Center. Our next business center event is coming up on June 17th and will highlight the four lending options you have in Alaska to finance your farm operation, equipment, or land purchases. Sign up here for the Agriculture Lending Webinar on June 17th at 12 PM.
We're excited to provide more resources and programs when we officially launch in July! If you are interested in staying up to date or participating as a Technical Service provider or participant for the business center click here.
