Source:  USDA, 7/20/10

Farm Service Agency Administrator Jonathan Coppess today announced that USDA will begin accepting applications for the Durum Wheat Quality Program (DWQP). Under this program producers may be eligible to receive a 50 percent cost share for applying fungicides to the 2010 durum wheat crop to control Fusarium head blight, commonly known as wheat scab.

The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, Appropriations Act of 2010 provided $3 million for the program in the current fiscal year. The deadline to apply for the 2010 crop year is Sept. 15, 2010. Applications received after Sept. 15 of the applicable crop year will not receive consideration and producers on that application will be ineligible for payment. Because this program is subject to available funding, application periods for subsequent years will be announced if funding becomes available.

To be eligible, a producer must complete a DWQP application and have used an eligible fungicide to control Fusarium head blight on acres planted to durum wheat for the 2010 crop year. In addition, the producer must provide verifiable documentation for the purchase of eligible fungicide used to control Fusarium head blight on durum wheat.

For more information or to apply for DWQP and other USDA Farm Service Agency disaster assistance programs, visit a local FSA county office or www.fsa.usda.gov.