WASHINGTON, D.C. — Farmers can expect to receive their safety-net payments for the 2014 crop year in the mail beginning this month. Nearly $4 billion will be dispersed nationwide.

Despite lower prices for most crops, many farms produced well enough in 2014 to avoid the need for a payout from the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. Nearly half of the 1.7 million farms that signed up for either program will receive payments.

"Unlike the old direct payments program, which paid farmers in good years and bad, the 2014 farm bill authorized a new safety net that protects producers only when market forces or adverse weather cause unexpected drops in crop prices or revenues," said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.

He explained revenues of farms participating in the ARC-County program are down by about $20 billion from the benchmark set by USDA. The $4 billion being paid out covers a percentage of revenue loss in order to keep farmers in business.

Crops receiving assistance currently include barley, corn, grain sorghum, lentils, oats, peanuts, dry peas, soybeans and wheat.

Most of that payout is for corn. The national price was 30 percent below the historical benchmark price used by the ARC-County program, Vilsack said. The nation, including Indiana, had some of the highest yields on record and because many counties produced extraordinarily well, bringing in additional revenue, they did not qualify for a payout despite the price drop.

Others that did not receive rain at the right time and had diminished yields did, said Kent Politsch, chief of public affairs at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Washington, D.C.

ARC-County incorporates 76 percent of the farms participating in safety-net programs. For that program, county yields were compared to the average of the previous four years – 2009-13 – after removing the highest production year and the lowest production year.

Nationwide, 96 percent of soybean farms, 91 percent of corn farms and 66 percent of wheat farms elected the ARC-County coverage option.

Ninety-nine percent of long-grain rice and peanut farms and 94 percent of medium grain rice farms elected the PLC option.

With the vast majority of participating farm acres protected by ARC-County, 23 percent are covered by PLC and 1 percent by ARC-Individual. While the ARC program is based on revenue loss, PLC coverage goes into effect when the price drops below an established level.

For data about other crops, state-by-state program election results, final PLC price and payment data, and other program information including frequently asked questions, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc

In the upcoming months, disbursements will be made for additional crops after marketing year average prices are published by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Disbursements to participants in ARC-County or PLC for long-and medium-grain rice will occur in November, for remaining oilseeds and also chickpeas in December and temperate Japonica rice in early February 2016.

ARC-individual payments will begin in November. Upland cotton is no longer a covered commodity.

The Budget Control Act of 2011, passed by Congress, requires the USDA to reduce payments by 6.8 percent. For more information, producers are encouraged to visit their local FSA office.