USDA issues farm safety net, conservation payments

     Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that over $9.6 billion in payments will be made, beginning the first week in October, to producers through the Agriculture Risk Coverage, Price Loss Coverage and Conservation Reserve programs.
     The United States Department of Agriculture is issuing approximately $8 billion in payments under the ARC and PLC programs for the 2016 crop year, and $1.6 billion under CRP for 2017.
     “Many of these payments will be made to landowners and producers in rural communities that have recently been ravaged by drought, wildfires and deadly hurricanes,” Perdue said. “I am hopeful this financial assistance will help those experiencing losses with immediate cash flow needs as we head toward the end of the year.”              
     The ARC and PLC programs were authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and offer a safety net to agricultural producers when there is a substantial drop in revenue or prices for covered commodities. Over half a million producers will receive ARC payments and over a quarter million producers will receive PLC payments for 2016 crops, continuing over the next several months.   
     Payments are being made to producers who enrolled base acres of barley, corn, grain sorghum, lentils, oats, peanuts, dry peas, soybeans, wheat and canola. In the upcoming months, payments will be announced after marketing year average prices are published by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service for the remaining covered commodities.

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