Farmers trying to determine which of the new federal farm programs is best for them will have an opportunity to talk directly with Purdue University experts in a free webinar Friday (Dec. 5).
“Evaluating Your 2014 Farm Bill Choices” begins at 9 a.m. (EST).
Jim Mintert, director of Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture and one of the webinar panelists, said the new farm bill represents the biggest change to federal farm policy in a generation.
The legislation provides farmers with several coverage options. Farmers also have an opportunity to reallocate their base acreage for program crops based on recent planting history and, for the first time in years, can also update their farms’ yields based on actual yield history.
Farmers have until Feb. 27, 2015 to reallocate their base acreage and update yields. Those figures will be used to determine the amount of coverage farmers are eligible to receive under the new bill.
There are three farm-income support options available through the new farm bill: the Agricultural Risk Coverage-County program, commonly known as ARC-County; the Price Loss Coverage program, or PLC; and the Agricultural Risk Coverage-Individual program, or ARC-Individual.
Farmers have until March 31, 2015 to choose one of those options.
During the webinar, the Purdue panel will discuss the provisions of each of the programs and provide some economic analysis to help guide farmers in their decision-making process.
“These programs are much different than previous farm programs. Our webinar will help farmers cut through the clutter and gain some real insight into how these programs work,” Mintert said. “There will be time for participants to ask questions.”
In addition to Mintert, the panel includes Michael Langemeier, associate director of the Center for Commercial Agriculture, and Michael Boehlje, distinguished professor of agricultural economics.
To register for the webinar, or for more information, visit the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture website at https://www.agecon.purdue.edu/commercialag/.
Source: Purdue News