USDA Farm Service Agency Announces Key Dates for New 2014
Farm Bill Safety Net Programs
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is
announcing key dates for farm owners and producers
to keep in mind regarding the new 2014 Farm Bill
established programs, Agriculture Risk Coverage
(ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC). The new
programs, designed to help producers better manage
risk, usher in one of the most significant reforms to
U.S. farm programs in decades.
“FSA wants to keep producers well informed
on all steps in the process,” said Farm Service
Agency (FSA) Administrator Val Dolcini. “We
will continue our outreach efforts and maintain
resources online to help them understand the new
programs before they come in to make decisions for
their operations.”
of Missouri and the Agricultural and Food Policy
Center (AFPC) at Texas A&M (co-leads for the
National Association of Agricultural and Food
Policy), along with the University of Illinois (lead
for the National Coalition for Producer Education)
to develop these online tools.
Covered commodities include barley, canola,
large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed,
grain sorghum, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peanuts,
dry peas, rapeseed, long grain rice, medium grain
rice (which includes short grain rice), safflower
seed, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat.
Upland cotton is no longer a covered commodity.
For more information, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill.
Dates associated with ARC and PLC that farm
owners and producers need to know:
• Sept. 29, 2014 to Feb. 27, 2015: Land owners may
visit their local Farm Service Agency office to update
yield history and/or reallocate base acres.
• Nov. 17, 2014 to March 31, 2015: Producers make
a one-time election of either ARC or PLC for the 2014
through 2018 crop years.
• Mid-April 2015 through summer 2015: Producers
sign contracts for 2014 and 2015 crop years.
• October 2015: Payments for 2014 crop year,
if needed.
USDA leaders will visit with producers across the
country to share information and answer questions
on the ARC and PLC programs.
USDA helped create online tools to assist in
the decision process, allowing farm owners and
producers to enter information about their operation
and see projections that show what ARC and/or PLC
will mean for them under possible future scenarios.
The new tools are now available at www.fsa.usda.
gov/arc-plc. Farm owners and producers can access
the online resources from the convenience of their
home computer or mobile device at any time. USDA
provided $3 million to the Food and Agricultural
Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University
18 West Virginia Farm Bureau News
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