Everything MT- Land & Cattle LLC needs to file
Work top to bottom. Steps 1 and 2 gate everything else — without a farm number, no program will take an application.
Accounts & identity
Do these before the field-office visit — everything else depends on them.
- Create USDA eAuth / Login.gov account
Required to sign anything electronically
- farmers.gov account
View farm records, loan status, conservation contracts
- SAM.gov entity registration
Needed for federal payments to the LLC (UEI)
- Find the Osage County service center
Book the joint NRCS + FSA appointment
- How to prepare for the service center visit
USDA's own guide: make the 30–60 min appointment, ask what to bring, deed/plat or lease in hand, register the farm number on site
Establish farm records (FSA)
No farm number = no program eligibility. This is the gate.
- Get a farm number
Bring deeds, leases, Articles of Organization, EIN letter, IDs
- AD-2047 — Customer Data Worksheet
Registers the LLC and members as USDA customers
- CCC-902E — Farm Operating Plan (entity)
Payment eligibility for the LLC
- CCC-941 — AGI certification
Signed by every LLC member
- AD-1026 — Highly Erodible Land & Wetland certification
Blocks EQIP/CSP/loans if missing
Conservation (NRCS — EQIP & CSP)
Beginning farmer status unlocks up to 90% cost share and advance payments.
- EQIP program overview & how to apply
Grazing infrastructure, water, fence, cover
- CSP program overview
Annual payments on existing stewardship
- NRCS-CPA-1200 — Conservation Program Application
The actual EQIP/CSP application form
- Kansas NRCS — state payment schedules & ranking dates
Confirm the FY2027 cutoff before you file
- Beginning Farmer & Rancher benefits
Higher rates, advance payments, set-aside funds
Capital (FSA loans)
Direct Operating up to $400K · Farm Ownership up to $600K.
- Farm Loan Programs — start here
Operating and ownership loan basics
- Loan Assistance Tool
Builds a personalized checklist for the LLC
- FSA-2001 — Request for Direct Loan Assistance
Primary loan application
- FSA-2037 — Farm Business Plan / balance sheet
Assets, liabilities, herd valuation
- FSA-2038 — Projected income & expenses
Cow/calf cash flow projection
- Microloan / beginning farmer down payment loan
Alternate path if ownership loan is slow
Disaster & ongoing
Verify eligibility for prior-year drought before the March 1, 2027 deadline.
- Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP)
Drought payments per head
- ELAP — Emergency Assistance for Livestock
Feed, water hauling, losses not covered by LFP
- U.S. Drought Monitor — Osage County, KS
Determines LFP trigger weeks
- Kansas Beginning Farmer / state programs
State-level stacking on top of USDA
Bring to the appointment
Hard copies or PDFs on a drive — the field office will ask for these on the spot.
- Articles of Organization + Operating Agreement (KS, 2025)
- EIN assignment letter (41-3604243)
- Deeds for all 880 owned acres + any lease agreements
- Driver's licenses for Derek Thomas and Lee Mudd
- Most recent 3 years tax returns (personal + entity if filed)
- Current balance sheet — land, herd, equipment, debt
- Herd inventory: 142 head by class, with weights and calving dates
- Lyndon State Bank loan statements and payoff letters
- Grazing / rotation plan and any existing conservation records
- Voided check or SF-1199A for direct deposit of USDA payments
Who to call
Field offices covering Osage County.