1 / 23

Farm Service Agency 2014 Farm Bill Programs

Farm Service Agency 2014 Farm Bill Programs. Presentation to the Agriculture and Natural Resource Program Leaders Joint Meeting Joy Harwood, Robert Stephenson, Connie Holman, and John Tamashiro Farm Service Agency June 3, 2015. Where We Fit In at USDA. USDA.

dea
Download Presentation

Farm Service Agency 2014 Farm Bill Programs

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Farm Service Agency 2014 Farm Bill Programs Presentation to the Agriculture and Natural Resource Program Leaders Joint Meeting Joy Harwood, Robert Stephenson, Connie Holman, and John Tamashiro Farm Service Agency June 3, 2015

  2. Where We Fit In at USDA USDA The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is one of many agencies within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. FSA falls under the leadership of the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services. Office of the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services • Farm Service Agency • Risk Management Agency • Foreign Agriculture Service

  3. FSA Background and Brief History • Established as the Farm Security Administration during the depression of the 1930s. • Context: severe economic hardship as farmers faced very low prices, drought, foreclosure of farms, heavy debt, and other problems. • FSA’s earliest role was geared around provision of credit. • About same time, the Soil Conservation Service was started to help farmers control erosion and protect natural resources. • Over time, the agency was renamed and its role has evolved.

  4. Program Delivery Occurs at the Local Level • Agricultural producers can apply for benefits and service at one of over 2,100 local USDA Service Centersand through the FSA website. • More than 7,600 farmers are locally elected to be county committee members. • These County committees resolve local issues and are accountable to the Secretary of Agriculture.

  5. Main Categories of Programs • All of our programs are voluntary: • The main safety net programs help producers manage market price and income risks. • Disaster assistance programs to help manage weather risks. • Farm loan programs assist disadvantaged and beginning farmers who do not have access to commercial credit. • Environmental protection programs to reduce erosion, improve water quality and increase wildlife habitat. Note: Supply management, a traditional element of the commodity program, was eliminated in 1996. Thus, farmers are no longer required to idle land as a condition for receiving price or income supports.

  6. Who are FSA’scustomers? • Corn farmers in Iowa • Tomato growers in Florida • Dairy farmers in Wisconsin • Vineyards on Long island • Cattlemen in Oklahoma • Orchardists in California • Catfish growers in Arkansas • Tree farmers in Maine • Miscanthus producers in Missouri • Honey farmers in Texas

  7. 2014 Farm Act Changes to Commodity Programs • Price support programs • Sugar • Dairy • Crop insurance and disaster assistance programs • Crop Insurance • Supplemental Revenue Assistance • Livestock Disaster Assistance • Farm programs • Marketing loans • Direct payments • Counter-cyclical payments • Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) • Milk Income Loss Contracts (MILC)

  8. New 2014 Programs Commodity programs: • Price Loss Coverage (PLC) • Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) • Margin Protection Program for dairy producers Crop insurance programs: • Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) for upland cotton producers • Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO)

  9. Primary Safety Net Programs for Major Field Crops: ARC and PLC • Price Loss Coverage (PLC)—Triggers when market prices fall below a reference price set in the farm bill. • Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) Program— • Triggers when county crop revenue drops below 86 percent of the county benchmark revenue. • Producers may choose to participate in ARC using individual farm revenue instead of county revenue.

  10. Producers Have Many Choices… One time decision for the life of the Farm Bill For each covered commodity OR For each farm PLC Individual ARC County ARC Title XI: Crop Insurance Programs For each covered commodity and upland cotton Annual decision Crop yield insurance Crop revenue insurance No Crop insurance If not in ARC or STAX only cotton if not in ARC or STAX Annual decision only cotton only cotton STAX SCO yield SCO revenue STAX STAX

  11. Yield Data is Very Valuable • ARC-County requires yields for 21,000 counties (for 22 commodities): • By county, crop, and practice (irrigated vs. non-irrigated) • We rely on NASS county yields and crop insurance yields where those data are available (about 9,400 counties). • Where NASS and crop insurance yields are unavailable, yields for the remaining 11,600 counties are estimated by FSA state offices—and extension help is EXTREMELY VALUABLE.

  12. 2014 Farm Bill Disaster Programs 2008 Farm Bill disaster programs did not cover losses after September 30, 2011. These 2014 programs are very similar, and payments have been made to cover losses since late 2011. “LFP”--Assistance to ranchers who suffer grazing losses due to drought. “TAP”--Assistance to orchardists whose vines or trees are lost due to a natural disaster. “LIP”--Assistance to ranchers who suffer livestock death losses in a natural disaster. “ELAP”--Funds for losses that are not covered by any other program.

  13. Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) • NAP provides yield coverage to producers where crop insurance is not available. • It was first made available in 1994 legislation, but only at the “catastrophic” level through 2013. • The 2014 Farm Bill now allows producers to “buy up” to 65-percent yield coverage for a premium payment.

  14. Yield and Price Data are Critical for Implementing Disaster Programs • For the livestock programs: • Value by species (including bison, elk, honey bees, aquaculture, etc.) • Stocking rates, etc. • For TAP and NAP: • Price and yield data by type of crop.

  15. New Dairy Margin Program • Margin Protection Program (MPP) for dairy • Protection is based on the “margin” between the milk price and feed costs. • “Basic” coverage protects the producer at the $4 margin level. • Producers can “buy up” for additional margin protection above the base coverage level. • Payments are based on historical output.

  16. Sec. 1614: Farm Decision Tool and Education Funding • Farm Decision Tools: • $3 million competitive process; • ARC/PLC tools developed by Texas A&M and University of Illinois consortia; • Illinois also developed MPP and NAP tools. • Producer Education: • $3 million to educate producers on ARC/PLC, NAP buy-up, and MPP; • 68 agreements and over 1,300 meetings to date.

  17. Farm Loan Program Pilot Projects • Section 5302 of the 2014 Farm Bill authorizes farmer loan pilot projects of limited scope and duration to evaluate processes and techniques that may improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Farm Loan Programs loans. • On October 8, 2014, the Notice and request for comment was published in the Federal Register. - 31 suggestions submitted - 7 considered and 11 not considered - 13 administratively possible outside of the pilots - 2 selected

  18. Farm Loan Program Pilot Projects • Pilot Project #1- Credit Technical Assistance to Underserved Applicants - Target: Underserved applicants in designated Strikeforce counties. - FSA will work with a selected vendor to provide credit technical assistance to underserved FSA applicants in designated Strikeforce counties in selected regions of the country. - Program: 1) Develop a farm business plan. 2) Provide credit counseling. 3) Provide technical assistance in production and marketing. 4) Incorporate the components required for FSA’s financial borrower training. - Expected results: 1) Through training, provide skills and financial understanding to previously unreached applicants to be better prepared for credit, FSA or otherwise. 2) A waiver of FSA’s financial borrower training if applicant applies for an FSA loan. • Pilot Project #2- Pre-Eligibility Certification for Farm Ownership - Target: Veterans, underserved, and beginning farmers. - FSA will work with aselected vendor to develop and implement an FSA pre-approved eligibility program, whereby applicants obtain a certification of completion. - Program: 1) Develop production related coursework and training for targeted operations. 2) Develop a farm business plan. 3) Review applicant’s credit report. - Expected results: Upon certification, FSA will consider the applicant to have met all required Borrower Training and Eligibility requirements needed in order to receive a Farm Ownership loan up to the maximum loan limits.

  19. FSA Also Administers the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) • The Farm Bill gradually reduces the CRP acreage cap from 32 million acres to 24 million acres by 2017. • Since 2007, CRP acreage has declined by 30 percent, while CRP spending has declined by 10 percent • CRP has been shifting enrollment from whole-field to filter strips, grass waterways and other partial-field practices that take less land. • These practices are more expensive than enrolling whole-fields and are believed to produce larger environmental benefits per dollar of government spending.

  20. CRP Monitoring and Evaluation Projects • Focuses on identification and quantification of CRP environmental benefits, including: • Improved water quality • Enhanced wildlife populations and habitat • Pollinator health • Reduced downstream flood damage • Biodiversity • Small budget (about $1 million annually); funding opportunities exist. http://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/economic-and-policy-analysis/natural-resources-analysis/index

  21. FSA Payments Are $10+ Billion Annually

  22. Farm Programs Are Expected to Account for 11% of USDA’s FY 2015 Outlays Total = $145 billion “Farm and Commodity Programs” include ARC/PLC payments, marketing loan benefits, dairy MPP payments, and disaster assistance payments..

  23. Getting in touch online fsa.usda.gov Click “Ask FSA” Or e-mail: Joy.Harwood@wdc.usda.gov

More Related