WASHINGTON, DC - The US Department of Agriculture has unveiled highly anticipated new programs that are aimed at helping farmers better manage risk. New tools are now available to help provide farmers the information they need to choose the new safety net program that is right for their businesses. The agency says this is one of the most significant reforms to US farm programs in decades. From USDA: The new programs, Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), are cornerstones of the commodity farm safety net programs in the 2014 Farm Bill, legislation that ended direct payments. Both programs offer farmers protection when market forces cause substantial drops in crop prices and/or revenues. Producers will have through early spring of 2015 to select which program works best for their businesses. To help farmers choose between ARC and PLC, USDA helped create online tools that allow farmers to enter information about their operations and see projections about what each program will mean for them under possible future scenarios. The new tools are now available at fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc. Starting Monday, Sept. 29, 2014, farm owners may begin visiting their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices if they want to update their yield history and/or reallocate base acres, the first step before choosing which new program best serves their risk management needs. Letters sent this summer enabled farm owners and producers to analyze their crop planting history in order to decide whether to keep their base acres or reallocate them according to recent plantings. The next step in USDA’s safety net implementation is scheduled for this winter when all producers on a farm begin making their elections, which will remain in effect for 2014-2018 crop years between the options offered by ARC and PLC. Producers can contact their local FSA office for more information on ARC and PLC or to schedule an appointment to update their yield history and/or reallocate base acres.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 00:45:01 +0000
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