With regards to the Farm Bill of 2014 some very important dates are approaching. The first is December 12th 2014. This is when economists from UGA, the Farm Service Agency, and USDA Risk Management Agency will be conducting a meeting to explain the changes to the new Farm Bill.
The meeting will be from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the CW Pettigrew Center at Fort Valley State University.
This is a very important meeting, Under the new farm bill producers will be able to update/reallocate crop base and to update their yields. They will also discuss the new farm programs and what they will mean for different commodities.
The next important date is February 27th, 2015. This is the final day to update your base and yields with FSA. This should be done for each farm serial number that you currently farm and it is up to the owner to do this. Owners can give producers power of attorney to complete this action.
Next is March 31st, 2015. This is the final date to decide between either Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC). All producers on the farm must agree on the same coverage. You can select different coverage for different commodities, but the decision is final for the life of the farm bill.
With good yields in recent years it is critical that we update yields on farms if nothing else. This will determine the yield that you will be protected against under either of the new coverage plans.
There are two decision aids available to help producers with reallocation and coverage choices.
Texas A& M's Decision Aid or the University of Illinois's Decision Aid.
