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ACRE: Far from being a ‘no-brainer’ By Sara Wyant © Copyright Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc. This copyrighted article is reprinted by Arkansas Farm Bureau with permission from Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc. Agri-Pulse is the nation's leading farm and rural policy e-newsletter. Each weekly issue is filled with news and analysis designed to help you understand implications of the new farm bill, environmental regulations, international trade issues, upcoming political races, and much more. For a four-week free trial subscription, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com

Billed as one of the most far-reaching new reforms in the 2008 Farm Bill, the new Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program is getting a lot of attention for what it potentially will or will not deliver. As the farm bill was nearing the end zone, USDA officials raised concerns about the program, citing the potential for large enrollment and billions in budget exposure. However, Kansas State Extension Ag Economist Art Barnaby, who has been “crunching” the numbers on how the new program might work, says that participation is far from being a “no brainer” because farmers must give up 20% of their fixed direct payment for ACRE that may pay or may not pay. Barnaby has analyzed the potential payouts for all major crops under ACRE and finds mixed results. Much depends on market prices. The concept behind this new program is simple: pay farmers when revenues drop below normal revenue levels—rather than a program, like direct payments, that dishes out dollars whether or not there has been a yield or price drop. It’s the formula for implementing the ACRE program, starting in 2009, that has some farmers excited and deficit hawks nervous. It pegs the subsidies to current, record-high prices for grain, meaning farmers could get paid if prices and/or yields fall back to their historical levels. And prices could spike even higher, if there is a short grain crop this year. But the program also requires farmers to accept several other concessions and limitations. In order to enroll in ACRE, growers must agree to accept a 20% reduction in direct payments and a 30% reduction in the loan rate. The $40,000 limitation on direct payments is reduced by the amount of the direct payment reduction. The combined limit on ACRE and counter-cyclical payments equals $65,000 plus the amount of the direct payment reduction. Once a grower has signed up, he or she must stay enrolled for the life of the program (2009-2012). There is also an ACRE maximum payment limit of 25% of the expected state revenue, Barnaby points out. “So if a farmer’s loss is bigger than the state level loss then the farmer must absorb that loss. For example, a farmer could suffer a 100% loss while the state loss is capped at 25%. It is also possible for farmers to suffer revenue losses due to low yields and not trigger the state level ACRE payments. That is the exact case for 2007 central Kansas wheat losses that would not have


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