The government will make its first crop-subsidy payments under the 2014 farm law in October, with an estimated transfer of $6.5 billion to follow, said USDA deputy undersecretary Alexis Taylor at a House Agriculture Committee hearing. The 2014 law gave grain and soybean growers a one-time choice of traditional price supports, based on a floor price, or a new program called Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) that shields crop revenue from poor yields and low prices.
Producers notified the USDA of their choice last winter and spring. They face a Sept. 30 deadline to enroll in the farm program if they want the safety net.
“Given the significant drop in commodity prices since passage of the farm bill, our current projection is that about $6.5 billion in 2014 crop payments will be made, largely to corn producers who signed up for ARC,” said Taylor. The first payments for ARC and the Price Loss Coverage subsidy will be made “after marketing year average price data starts becoming available, and will continue through the fall as price data for additional commodities is published.”