crop revenue

The fifth year of drought in California will cost the agricultural sector $603 million in lower crop revenue, higher costs of pumping water, and lost jobs, says a report by UC-Davis. "Agriculture in California remains strong, with moderate growth in value, and in some cases employment, despite four years of dry conditions," says a summary by the team of five researchers.

Corn and soybean growers in the Midwest face nearly $480 an acre in fixed costs and land rent going into the planting season, and hundreds of dollars more in per-acre expenses for the so-called variable costs of producing a crop, says economist Brent Gloy.

When Congress first experimented with a revenue-support program for farmers, there were few takers. Only 8 percent of "base" acres were enrolled in the so-called ACRE program in 2013.

USDA "may want to consider" changing the March 31 deadline for growers to decide which crop subsidy option to take - a traditional plan based on target prices or a new approach based on crop revenue, says economist Carl Zulauf of Ohio State University.

The harvest-time prices for corn and soybeans are significantly below the prices projected last spring, so there is a possibility of payments under crop insurance policies that assure growers of a portion of average crop revenue, said economist Gary Schnitkey of U-Illinois.

Gross revenue per acre for corn growers in northern Illinois is forecast to be the lowest in five years, says economist Gary Schnitkey of U-Illinois.

When commodity prices fall, growers may collect payments from crop insurance as well as deficiecy payments from traditional crop subsidies, says economist Carl Zulauf of Ohio State University in an analysis.