Farm bill program set for Jan. 28 in Neosho

(From University of Missouri Extension)

University of Missouri Extension and USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) are partnering to help educate row crop farmers about the new Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) programs under the 2014 Farm Bill.

The meeting will be held in Neosho from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Jan. 28 at the LAMPO Center at 500 E. Spring Steet. To preregister for the program, or for more information, contact the Newton County FSA office at 417-451-1007 ext. 2 by Jan. 27.

“The new farm bill is an ‘alphabet soup’ of programs for producers, but the really big change is the programs for crop producers,” says Dr. Gordon Carriker, University of Missouri Extension agriculture business specialist. “Attending one of these Farm Bill meetings put on by FSA and MU Extension will help farmers make the best decision for their operation.
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The 2014 Farm Bill presented some very important opportunities and challenges for farmers according to Carriker.

“One of the major changes affects any farmer who has established crop base acreage. In the past, producers with base acres would receive ‘direct payments’ or ‘counter cyclical payments’ depending on market prices; the 2014 Farm Bill did away with those programs and replaced them with ‘safety net’ programs.”

Now farmers with base acreage have to decide between three different farm programs: the PLC program; the ARC-CO (county option) program; or the ARC-IO (individual option) program.

The first deadline for these programs, where producers decide on updating yields and/or allocating their acreage, is Feb. 27.

Individuals needing more information about the upcoming program in Ozark, or the 2014 Farm Bill, contact Dr. Gordon Carriker at 417-581-3558 orcarrikerg@missouri.edu or your local Farm Service Agency office.