farm subsidies
Tighter subsidy rules for 4 percent of farms
In a small step toward reform, the government will not allow more than three people per operation to collect crop subsidies by saying they are farm managers. The new USDA regulation will apply to large farms - over 2,500 acres - that operate as joint ventures or general partnerships, about 4 percent of the 2 million farms in the country.
Minnesota: ‘We can’t spend our way’ to cleaner water
The state pollution control agency in Minnesota spent nearly $125 million - half of its budget - to clean lakes and waterways contaminated by farming, says the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Corn and soy subsidies could average $50 an acre
Midwestern farmers could collect an average $50 an acre on corn and soybean land that is eligible for subsidies on this year's crops, says economist Gary Schnitkey of U-Illinois. The payments through the new Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) program, intended to shield crop revenue from low prices and poor yields, will be made after Oct. 1, 2016.
Big peanut crop may bring big U.S. subsidy costs
With a 19-percent spurt in production, peanut growers are harvesting the second-largest crop ever and "threatening to hand American taxpayers a near $2 billion bailout bill over the next three years and leaving the government with a big chunk of the crop on its books," reports Reuters.
Hands off crop insurance, agribusiness tells senators
Four dozen groups representing banks, farm-equipment makers, insurers and farmers urged senators not to meddle with the 2014 farm law or the federally subsidized crop-insurance program while writing a catch-all government funding bill.
Farm groups, lenders press for tax ‘extenders’ bill
USDA digital update: over budget and overdue
The Agriculture Department has spent more than $430 million on a project to modernize the computer technology behind its farm-subsidy programs, yet the system "is $140 million over budget, two years overdue and just 20 percent operational," says Harvest Public Media.
Is the check in the mail?
With commodity prices and farm income in a slump, Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts called on USDA to send subsidy checks to growers due on their 2014 crops. "According to law, payments to eligible producers ... were to start on October 1 or as soon as practicable," said the Kansas Republican in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Farm subsidies get 6.8 percent sequestration cut
The USDA will reduce farm subsidy payments by 6.8 percent "across the board, regardless of when they [farmers] came into the office," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The department mulled for several weeks how to apply budget cuts that are required under spending caps.
New study says foreign subsidies crimp U.S. wheat exports
Farm subsidies in China, India, Brazil and Turkey cost U.S. wheat growers nearly $1 billion in revenue annually, says a study commissioned by two U.S. wheat groups.
Risk of U.S. farm supports exceeding Doha Round targets
There is almost no risk that the United States will exceed WTO limits on agricultural subsidies with the 2014 farm law, but the picture could be far different if Doha Round proposals are adopted, according to three senior economists.
Farm subsidy convergence among rich and developing world
In the four dozen major agricultural countries of the world, government support accounted for 18 percent of gross farm receipts, or an average $736 billion from 2012-14, says the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Corn, soy, wheat growers opt for farm law’s revenue subsidy
Told to choose between traditional subsidies and a new-era revenue subsidy, corn and soybean farmers overwhelming opted for the revenue plan, the government announced. Growers were expected to choose the Agriculture Risk Coverage plan, analysts said, because it will provide larger payments than traditional subsidies triggered by low prices over the life of the 2014 farm law.
Farm subsidies soar in developing countries, panel hears
Major agricultural countries in the developing world, such as China, India and Brazil, are increasing their farm subsidies and displacing U.S. ag exports on the world market, two trade analysts told the House Agriculture Committee. "The United States, as the biggest agricultural exporter, suffers most from these distortions," said Craig Thorn of DTB Associates. U.S. negotiators have raised the issue at WTO discussions.
A quarter of farmers make subsidy choice as deadline nears
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he would provide "flexibility" if needed to assure orderly handling of two important farm program deadlines. Growers have until Friday to tell the USDA whether they want to update two factors for calculating crop subsidies - average yields and acreage bases. And they have until March 31 to select either the insurance-like Agricultural Risk Coverage subsidy or the traditionally designed Price Loss Coverage subsidy.
Large array of groups oppose food and farm cuts
Some 392 groups, ranging from bankers and equipment makers to farmers and antihunger activists, asked the Senate and House Budget committees to forgo any cuts in Agriculture Department programs.
Aggies may try to split farm subsidies and public nutrition
House Agriculture chairman Mike Conaway says his committee will consider whether farm subsidies and public nutrition programs, headlined by food stamps, should be handled separately by lawmakers, says Agri-Pulse.
“The most challenging year” for crop insurance
One of the top lobbyists at the American Farm Bureau Federation says budget-cutting pressure means that, "This is probably the most challenging year for crop insurance in a long time," AgWeb reports in a story from the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau meeting.