By Chad Hart
Upcoming Iowa State University Extension and Outreach meetings will provide guidance for Iowa farmland owners and operators reviewing options under the Agricultural Act of 2014, commonly known as the Farm Bill. Farmland owners and operators must make decisions on base acre and yield updates along with choosing an Agriculture Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage commodity program.
“Our goal is to assist as many farmers as possible,” said Ann Johanns, extension program coordinator. “Our farm management specialists have scheduled more than 100 informational meetings across the state.”
Each meeting will discuss important considerations for owners and operators reviewing their options. A complete list of Farm Bill meetings can be found on the ISU Extension and Outreach statewide calendar.
Steve Johnson, a farm management specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach, outlined the process involved with selecting options in a recent Ag Decision Maker newsletter.
“There are important decisions coming up this fall and winter for both landowners as well as current producers on the farm,” Johnson noted.
Johnson said that landowners and producers received a letter from the USDA Farm Service Agency a few months ago. This offered a summary of their current base acres, yields and planting history from 2008 to 2012. Farmers who misplaced their letters or did not receive one can contact their local FSA office. This letter will help in a three-step decision-making process.
Information in the FSA letter allows farmers to make a one-time decision of either maintaining the farm’s 2013 base acres of covered commodities through 2018, or reallocating base acres among those covered commodities planted on the farm during the 2009 to 2012 crop years. The landowner must make a final decision on base acres and yields by Feb. 27, 2015.
The farm producer then must determine whether to select ARC (County or Individual), which is a revenue-based program, or opt for the price based PLC. The program election must take place from Nov. 17, 2014 to March 31, 2015. The third step, which is completed between mid-April to summer 2015, is for producers to enroll the land in their elected coverage program.
An overview of these steps and program regulations are included in the ISU Extension and Outreach Farm Bill meetings. The decision points for landowners and producers will be explained as well as more details on the timeline for base acreage/yield updates, commodity program election and program payments for the five-year Farm Bill.
ISU Extension and Outreach farm management specialists will provide information on additional online resources to help farm owners and operators continue in the decision-making process. Local FSA staff members who administer the programs also will be present to discuss options.
Source:iastate.edu