|
The
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that beginning today, many of
the 1.7 million farms that enrolled in either the Agriculture Risk Coverage
(ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs will receive safety-net payments
due to market downturns during the 2015 crop year.
This
fall, USDA will be making more than $7 billion in payments under the ARC-County
and PLC programs to assist participating producers, which will account for over
10 percent of USDA’s projected 2016 net farm income. These payments will help
provide reassurance to America’s farm families, who are standing strong against
low commodity prices compounded by unfavorable growing conditions in many parts
of the country.
Unlike
the old direct payment program, which issued payments during both weak and
strong market conditions, the 2014 Farm Bill authorized the ARC-PLC safety net
to trigger and provide financial assistance only when decreases in revenues or
crop prices, respectively, occur. The ARC and PLC programs primarily
allow producers to continue to produce for the market by making payments on a
percentage of historical base production, limiting the impact on production
decisions.
Nationwide,
producers enrolled 96 percent of soybean base acres, 91 percent of corn base
acres and 66 percent of wheat base acres in the ARC-County coverage option.
Producers enrolled 99 percent of long grain rice and peanut base acres and 94
percent of medium grain rice base acres in the PLC option. Overall, 76 percent
of participating farm base acres are enrolled in ARC-County, 23 percent in PLC
and one percent in ARC-Individual. For other program information including
frequently asked questions, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc.
Payments
are made to producers who enrolled base acres of barley, corn, grain sorghum,
lentils, oats, peanuts, dry peas, soybeans, wheat and canola. In the upcoming
months, payments will be announced after marketing year average prices are
published by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service for the remaining
covered commodities. These include long and medium grain rice (except for temperate
Japonica rice), which will be announced in November, remaining oilseeds and
chickpeas, which will be announced in December, and temperate Japonica rice,
which will be announced in early February 2017. Upland cotton is no
longer a covered commodity.
The
Budget Control Act of 2011, passed by Congress, requires USDA to reduce 2015
ARC and PLC payments by 6.8 percent. For more information, producers are
encouraged to visit their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. To find a
local FSA office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.
Questions?
Please contact your local FSA Office.
| 
