My Last ACRE Post for the Year (I Promise!)
With less than two weeks to sign up for the ACRE program (the date is August 14, which is a Friday) and with most ag offices being understaffed, if you need to sign up for ACRE, I would suggest doing it now.
I have read about several meetings where there might be a crowd of 100-200 farmers in the room and the speaker would ask how many farmers have signed up for ACRE and not one hand will go up. The questions why are:
1. Are farmers perplexed with the complexities of the calculations?
2. Are farmers concerned that landlords will need to add their signature and they will need to share their yield data with them?
3. Are farmers waiting to see how it might work in 2009 and then make their decision in 2010.
The answers could be Yes!, Yes! and Yes!. However, there is growing consensus that the benefits to farmers will be greatest for the 2009 crop than later crops. This appears to be especially true for wheat farmers and possible corn growers.
If ACRE is an enigma to you and you need help in deciding what to do, the following is a compilation of resources that will help you make your decision.
The Washington Association of Wheat Growers has a worksheet showing how the ACRE program affects wheat growers>
Kansas State University risk management specialist Art Barnaby is holding 2 webinars entitled “Will ACRE pay on my farm?” on August 4, with signup details here.
Some of Barnaby’s most recent calculations on prices and yields are located here.
Barnaby also has a forum for questions and answers from farmers on how the program works. Find his answers here.
University of Illinois Farm Management Specialists have provided numerous fact sheets, slide/audio presentations and an ACRE calculator at the FarmDOC website.
Iowa State University ag economist Bruce Babcock explores the odds of an ACRE payment for corn and beans for 2009. His analysis indicates a good chance of a payment for the 2009 crop year. His analysis is here.
Several members of the Michigan State University ag economist department, including Jim Hilker, Roy Black and Roger Betz issued an alert for farmers to sign up for ACRE. Their explanation and examples are listed here.
University of Nebraska ag economist Brad Lubben provides his analysis indicating that the ACRE program is attractive for Nebraska farmers. Find that analysis here.
Ohio State University ag economist Carl Zulauf has provided much material on the ACRE program including creating brief fact sheets. Six of these factsheets are located here.
In Minnestoa, the chance for an ACRE payment is better for wheat than corn according to ag economist Kent Olson in his latest newsletter.
If any of these are helpful, remember you must sign up by August 14. Only a signature is needed including both operator and owner. All of the production evidence will need to be submitted by June 2010. However, you will need to have good handle on how your overall farm yield and revenue will compare with the state yield and revenue.
Remember, you now have all of the material that you might need to make an informed decision. Do it now!
Paul Neiffer is a certified public accountant and business advisor specializing in income taxation, accounting services, and succession planning for farmers and agribusiness processors. Paul is a principal with CliftonLarsonAllen in Walla Walla, Washington, as well as a regular speaker at national conferences and contributor at agweb.com. Raised on a farm in central Washington, he has been immersed in the ag industry his entire life, including the last 30 years professionally. Paul and his wife purchase an 180 acre ranch in 2016 and enjoy keeping it full of animals.
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