NY Farmers To Receive Assistance for Crop Price Losses

From the USDA Farm Service Agency

The U.S. Department of Agriculture New York State Farm Service Agency Executive Director James Barber says a majority of New York farms that enrolled in safety-net programs established by the 2014 Farm Bill will receive financial assistance for the 2015 crop year. 

The programs, known as Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage, are designed to protect against unexpected drops in crop prices or revenues due to market downturns.

“These safety-net programs provide help when price and revenues fall below normal, unlike the previous direct payments program that provided funds even in good years,” said Barber. “These payments will help provide reassurance to New York farm families, who are standing strong against low commodity prices compounded by unfavorable growing conditions. 

"For example, 55 counties in New York state harvest corn, and 51 have experienced a drop in price below the benchmark price established by the Agriculture Risk Coverage program. Payments will also be made in most counties to producers of oats, soybeans and wheat,” Barber said.

“Payments by county can vary because average county yields will differ,” he said.  

Statewide, 17,577 farms participated in Agriculture Risk Coverage and 931 farms participated in Price Loss Coverage.  

More details on the price and yield information used to calculate the financing assistance from the safety-net programs is available on the FSA website at www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc and
www.fsa.usda.gov/ny.

Deadline is April 7 for Choosing Crop Safety-Net Programs

News from the USDA:

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today provided farm owners and producers one additional week, until April 7, to choose between Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), the safety-net programs established by the 2014 Farm Bill.

The final day to update yield history or reallocate base acres also will be April 7. 

Nearly 98 percent of owners already have updated yield and base acres, and 90 percent of producers have enrolled in ARC or PLC.  

This additional week will give producers a more time to have those final conversations, review their data, visit their local Farm Service Agency offices to make decisions.
If no changes are made to yield history or base acres by the deadline, the farm's current yield and base acres will be used. If a program choice of ARC or PLC is not made, there will be no 2014 crop year payments for the farm and the farm will default to PLC coverage for the 2015 through 2018 crop years. 

Producers who have an appointment at their local Farm Service Agency offices scheduled by April 7 will be able to make an election between ARC and PLC, even if their actual appointment is after April 7.
These safety-net programs provide important financial protection against unexpected changes in the marketplace.  

Online tools, available at www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc, allow producers to explore how ARC or PLC coverage will affect their operation. 
Covered commodities under ARC and PLC 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 and sweet rice), safflower seed, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat.
Producers need to contact the Farm Service Agency by April 7. To learn more, farmers can contact their local Farm Service Agency county office. To find local offices, visit http://offices.usda.gov.