Details about new state CAFO rules will be the subject of seven meetings co-sponsored by IFB. page 2
Monday, October 6, 2014
Grab a pair of mud boots! The October forecast calls for wetter than average conditions. page 4
Nearly 3,000 Farm Bureau members participated in a social media WOTUS day of action. page 3
HARVESTING AMOUNTS TO MORE THAN A HILL OF BEANS
Two sections Volume 42, No. 40
Linda Borngasser combines soybeans in a 160-acre field near Sabina in McLean County. Her husband, Bob, waits in the tractor for another load yielding about 67 bushels per acre — a little below average due to recent excessive rain. Moisture averaged 11.5 percent. The Borngassers have harvested 250 acres of soybeans and 150 acres of corn. Corn yields have been above average. Watch a soybean harvest video at {facebook.com/illfarmbureau}. (Photo by Ken Kashian)
USDA sets deadlines to make farm bill program decisions
BY DEANA STROISCH FarmWeek
Periodicals: Time Valued
USDA last week clarified how much time farmers and landowners have to update payment yields and reallocate base acreage allowed under the 2014 farm bill. The official enrollment periods include: • Sept. 29 through Feb. 27, 2015: Update payment yields and reallocate base
acreage. However, employees at Illinois Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices won’t be trained — or have the software they need — until after Thursday. • Nov. 17 through March 31, 2015: Select Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC). Those who don’t make a decision will automatically be enrolled in PLC. Illinois Farm Bureau’s Doug Yoder said the deadlines give farmers plenty of time to make decisions. “I think that puts farmers’ minds at ease that they don’t have to rush and get anything done now,” said Yoder, senior director of affiliate and risk management. “We’ve got time.” Online tools developed by three universities, including the University of Illinois, can help farmers project what each program will mean under different scenarios. The tools also will help farmers decide whether it’s worth updating their yield information. Find the tools at {www.fsa. usda.gov/arc-plc}. Yoder said IFB can help farmers use the tools to analyze their options. IFB also
‘I think that puts farmers’ minds at ease that they don’t have to rush and get anything done now.’ — Doug Yoder IFB senior director of affiliate and risk management
plans to hold webinars and face-to-face meetings with farmers this winter. Signed into law in February, the Agricultural Act of 2014 sets agricultural and nutrition policy for the next five years. The bill eliminates direct payments and modifies the target price program, replacing the Counter-Cyclical Payment (CCP) program with PLC. The bill also changes the revenue safety nets, replacing Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) with two ARC options — County ARC and Individual Farm ARC. Those who don’t make a decision will automatically be enrolled in PLC.
All programs make payments on base acres. A farm’s total base acres cannot be increased, but farmers can keep the current base acres or reallocate base acres across program crops based on the actual program crops planted in 2009-12 years. Farmers also can update payment yields to 90 percent of the average yields from 2008-12 or keep their current payment yields at levels used in 2008 farm bill counter-cyclical payments. Updated payment yields are only used to calculate PLC. Both revenue safety net options will use payment yield established in the 2008 farm bill. www.facebook.com/illfarmbureau