More than one-fifth of farmers have yet to tell the USDA which crop-subsidy plan they want under the 2014 farm law, the insurance-like Agricultural Risk Coverage or the traditionally styled Price Loss Coverage. The deadline for action is Tuesday. Some 77 percent of grain and oilseed growers made the ARC/PLC selection by March 19, says the USDA. “We expect these numbers to continue to increase significantly by the end of the month,” said Val Dolcini, head of the Farm Service Agency, during a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing.
As long as growers contact their local USDA office by Tuesday, they will be counted as enrolled even if their paperwork is not completed, Dolcini said when lawmakers asked how the department would handle a last-minute rush. “I anticipate we will use the month of April to clean up the register.” Earlier this year, the USDA extended the deadline for farmers to update their yield or acreage “bases” for the farm bill, and there was speculation that the USDA would do the same for ARC/PLC. Dolcini said the department “is making a final push” to alert farmers and landowners of Tuesday’s deadline.
If growers do not contact the USDA, they will not be eligible for subsidies on 2014 crops and will automatically be assigned to PLC for 2015-18 crops. The department mailed 2.2 million postcards on March 16 to owners and operators who had at least one parcel that was not enrolled. “Our county office staff is geared up and ready to meet these producers and help them to make their decisions in the final days of March,” said Dolcini.
Analysts say ARC, which covers declines in crop revenue, is likely to be more attractive to corn and soybean growers than PLC, which uses reference prices. Wheat, rice and sorghum growers are likely to prefer PLC because crop prices are projected to be low enough to trigger payments, says the University of Missouri think tank FAPRI.
Politico says criticism of the 2014 law as overly expensive may be premature. The story, by David Rogers, says FAPRI’s calculation of direct payments to farmers averaged $5.85 billion annually for crop years 2008-13. “For 2014-2018, which corresponds to the new bill, the average is $5.44 billion annually.”