U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director, Richard V. Snuffer II, reminds producers of upcoming important deadlines for the new safety-net programs established by the 2014 Farm Bill, known as Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC). The final day to update yield history or reallocate base acres is Feb. 27, and the final day for farm owners and producers to choose coverage is Mar. 31. “These programs provide financial protection against unexpected changes in the marketplace, so now is the time to have those final conversations, to ask any remaining questions, and to visit the Farm Service Agency to make these decisions,” said Snuffer. “For the first time in many years, farmers have the opportunity to update yields or reallocate base, but if no changes are made by Feb. 27, the farm’s current yield and base will be used,” said Snuffer. “If no program election occurs by Mar. 31, then there will be no 2014 payments for the farm and the farm will default to PLC coverage through the 2018 crop year.” Nationwide, more than 3,500 training sessions have been conducted on the new safety-net programs, including 34 in West Virginia. The online tools, available at www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc, allow producers to explore projections on how ARC or PLC coverage will affect their operation under possible future scenarios. Covered commodities 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 rice), safflower seed, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat. Upland cotton is no longer a covered commodity. To learn more, farmers can contact their local Farm Service Agency county office. To find your local office visit http://offices.usda.gov. The Farm Bill builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past six years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for the taxpayer. Since enactment, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill.
