By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER Ohio Correspondent
COLUMBUS, Ohio — March 31 is the last day for farmers to make choices on federal safety net programs known as the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), which were established by the 2014 farm bill. These program choices could make a difference for their farms through 2018. The USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is urging farmers to make their decisions about updating crop yield histories and reallocating base acres for these programs. Updated yields and base acre reallocations could improve a farmer’s potential to recover payments in case of a weather disaster or changes in the market that adversely affect their income. “There is a lot of deciding to do with this new program,” said Steven Maurer, Ohio FSA executive director. “It is interesting that for a long while producers have asked for options; they have more options right now than, in many cases, they know what to do with. It is an education process.” FSA, with extension and other farm groups, in county offices all over the state, has put on hundreds of educational programs, Maurer said. Some producers have gone to several programs to make sure they fully grasped what they were signing onto. It is a complicated process. “We have a lot of options with the ARC and PLC programs; people have just been very deliberate and in some cases, very hesitant, because they don’t exactly know what to do,” Maurer explained. “They are educating themselves and they are going to get it done. “If somebody hasn’t made an appointment and we don’t have it all finished by March 31, certainly there will be provisions to allow people to sign in and then do the business later, if they can’t get it all done at once. Probably the best thing they could do is pick up the phone and call the county office.” If producers don’t make a decision by the March 31 deadline, they will be assigned the PLC, the default program, and lose payments for losses incurred in 2014. “The bottom line is, make an appointment or just drop in and get the process under way. March is gradually leaving us, and it is time to sign up if you haven’t already done so,” he pointed out. To find the county offices, visit www.fsa.usda.gov and click on “State Offices,” click on your state on the map and then “County Offices.” For information on the safety net programs, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc |
