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Farmers who lease federal
lands, such as those in the Tulelake and Lower Klamath
National Wildlife refuges, may have been affected by the
change, said Klamath County Farm Service Agency Program
Technician Dawn Rose. If so, those farmers do not need
to do anything, unless they did not sign up for the
Direct and Counter-cyclical program this year. Sign-up
has been extended to Aug. 14.
Reversals made on
lease lands
H&N file photo by Jill Aho - Farmers
leasing lands on the Tuelake and Lower
Klamath National Wildlife refuges
participating in the Direct and
Counter-cyclical Payment Program are
eligible to count these lands in base acres,
thanks to a ruling by U.S. Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Ways to qualify
Farms must have established at
least 10 base acres if the producer is not identified as
socially disadvantaged or a beginning farmer in order to
participate in the federal government’s Direct and
Counter-cyclical Payment Program. The administrative
rule issued at the end of 2008 said leased federal lands
could no longer be considered in the base acre
requirement.
Direct and Counter-cyclical
Payment Programs are designed as a safety net for
farmers, Rose said.
Farms with established base
acres that have signed up for the program will receive a
payment from the direct program based on historical
acreage, yield and the direct payment rate.
Counter-cyclical payments only kick in when commodities
prices fall below the target price.
Uncertainty is a part of
farming, but direct payments are guaranteed
revenue for farmers, said Karl Scronce, a local wheat
farmer and president of the National Association of
Wheat Growers.
“As a wheat farmer, that’s the only subsidy
payment you’ve got outside crop failures and crop
insurance,” Scronce said. Subsidy payments have been
disappearing from farm legislation, and those safety
nets established by earlier farm bills are down to a few
programs.
In contrast to the counter-cyclical portion of
the program, direct payments are not affected by crop
failure and are guaranteed revenue even in times of
severe drought. In such cases, any harvested crops would
garner a better price at market because of scarcity, and
therefore
eliminate the possibility of counter-cyclical payments
kicking in.
ACRE is new
A new program was included in the 2008 Farm
Bill called the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE)
program. Participation in the ACRE program means a
reduction of 20 percent in direct payments and
elimination of countercyclical
payments.
ACRE is a revenue based support program begun
this year as an alternative to the direct and
counter-cyclical program. Farms do not have to choose
ACRE at this time, but once elected, ACRE participation
is required through 2012.
The Farm Bureau and Ducks Unlimited applauded
Vilsack’s decision, saying it was a big win for both
farmers and conservationists, according to a press
release.
Many birds using
the Tulelake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife refuges
benefit from crop-sharing agreements and grains left in
fields after harvest.
“Over the years, direct payments have helped
farmers out,” Scronce said. “Because it’s not based on
market prices and production, it doesn’t really assure
you’ll get a profit.”
What it insures, Scronce said,
is a continued and reliable supply of grains and other
commodities.
Both the Direct
and Counter-cyclical Payment Program and the
Average Crop Revenue Election program sign-up
dates have been extended from June 1 to Aug. 14
to allow producers more time to decide whether
to participate.
Sign-up for ACRE
is expected to start in late April. The ACRE
program provides eligible producers with a
safety net if both farm and state revenue drops.
The program targets planted and
considered-planted covered commodity crops.
In ACRE, revenue calculation uses national price
figures as well as state and farm yields.
By choosing ACRE, producers
will forego counter-cyclical payments, receive a
20 percent reduction in direct payments and a 30
percent reduction in loan rates. Choosing ACRE
binds the farm to the program through 2012.
For more information about
these and other programs, contact Klamath County
Farm Service Agency at 883-6924 or go online to
www.fsa. usda.gov.
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