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July 30, 2009
ACRE: If You Need Help With A Decision, Here It Is. (UPDATED WITH NEW RESOURCES.)
There is a major disconnect between farmers and the ACRE program, the Average Crop Revenue Election program that was created by Congress last year for farmers to manage their revenue risk for corn, soybeans, and other program crops. The sign-up deadline is two weeks away and less than 1% of the applicable farms have enrolled in the national program. What is wrong with this picture?
The room was crowded Wednesday afternoon at a meeting of farmers in the heart of the Cornbelt where they had been invited by their grain elevator manager to listen to speakers describe the ACRE program, how it would work on their farm, and a market outlook. But when one speaker asked how many had signed up for the ACRE program, not a single hand went up, and the Director of the county Farm Service Agency reminded the group her office had only three staff members to serve the needs of several hundred farmers. This instance is real, and it could be the case in a thousand counties around the Cornbelt.
Are farmers perplexed with the complexity of the calculations?
Are farmers befuddled by the need to have all landowners add their signature to the enrollment form?
Are farmers waiting to see how ACRE works for 2009 and planning to sign up their 2010 crop?
The answer could be yes to all three questions, but Land Grant University agricultural economists and Extension farm management specialists around the Cornbelt are expressing concern that ACRE may be a bigger financial benefit for the 2009 crop than for future crops, and farmers would miss out on the benefits.
If ACRE is an enigma and you need help in deciding what to do, following is a compilation of resources from authorities who try to explain the ins and outs of ACRE.
University of Illinois Farm Management Specialists have provided numerous fact sheets, slide/audio presentations, and an ACRE calculator at the FarmDOC website.
At Iowa State University, ag economist Bruce Babcock explores the odds of an ACRE payment to corn and soybean farmers, saying futures market prices point to a good chance of that occurring. His analysis is here.
Also at Iowa State, ag economist William Edwards discusses the pros and cons of using default or "plug" yields in place of historic yields in the Ag Decision Maker.
At Kansas State University, risk management specialist Art Barnaby has been filing many updates on ACRE. He is holding 2 webinars (Internet web broadcast seminars) entitled “Will ACRE pay on my farm?” on Aug. 4, with sign-up details here.
Some of Barnaby’s most recent calculations for prices and yields are located here.
Barnaby also provides an exchange of questions and answers that farmers have been asking him about program details, which may very well be some of your questions. Find his answers here.
At Michigan State University, marketing specialist Jim Hilker’s latest market outlook explored the impact of ACRE on Michigan farmers. If you are one of them, you would be well served to review his comments.
Several members of the Michigan State University ag economics department, including Hilker, Roy Black, and Roger Betz issued an alert for farmers to sign up for ACRE. Their explanation and examples are listed here.
University of Nebraska agricultural economist Brad Lubben provides his analysis of the program with an observation that is appears to be an attractive option for Nebraska producers. Find that analysis .
At Ohio State University, ag economist Carl Zulauf has been one of the more prolific authors of material about ACRE, creating brief fact sheets. Six of his factsheets are located here.
Economists at Purdue University used their Top Farmer Newsletter to provide an analysis of ACRE and give an Indiana example of how it works. Find that here.
Purdue marketing specialist Chris Hurt provides ACRE help on corn and on soybeans.
Texas A & M University created a series of links to ACRE websites and presentations. Those are located here.
In Minnesota, the chance for an ACRE payment is better for wheat than row crops says economist Kent Olson in his latest newsletter.
If any of these are helpful, please remember that August 14 is the deadline to enroll your farms in the ACRE program. Only a signature is needed, including signatures of the operators and owners. All production evidence should be submitted by July 2010. However, you will need to have a good handle on the comparison of your farm yield with the state yield to determine whether that farm should be enrolled in the program.
Summary:
Obviously, the time to decide on whether to sign up for ACRE for the 2009 crop is quite soon, and many farmers are undecided. If the reason for the indecision is insufficient information, there are numerous resources, many of them recommending that farmers enroll in ACRE for 2009, because of the greater potential for financial benefit, compared to the conventional program.
Posted by Stu Ellis at July 30, 2009 12:33 AM | Permalink
Comments
The time to decide on whether to sign up for ACRE for the 2009 crop is quite soon, and many farmers are undecided.
For this maybe it is better to give the Farmers enough time to think for them to decide for the success of the program.
The original deadline in June was shifted to August. The deadline will return to June 1 next year.
~Stu
Posted by: College Works Painting Scam at July 29, 2009 11:26 PM
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