Ag Policy
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ARC-CO Reports Are Net Not Gross
A reader sent an email to us indicating our reports of ARC-CO payments on corn for his county in Iowa were not correct. This is a case where both of us are correct. Our reports that we issued this week showed the estimated ARC-CO payments for each county on a net basis. He was looking […]
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Let’s Not Forget Wheat, Barley and Sorghum!
Earlier this week we had posted reports on various estimated ARC-CO payments assuming various MYA prices for Corn and Soybeans. In this post, we are releasing reports for ARC-CO for wheat, barley and sorghum for all of the NASS counties. Again, make sure to understand that these are simply calculations assuming NASS yields will equal final FSA […]
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NASS Yields To FSA Yields
We had someone note that the yields per NASS do not tie out to the final yields per FSA. I had taken a look at this a while back and noted that corn yields were usually within a bushel or two, but decided to review previous year’s corn yields and see how much of a […]
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Soybean Estimated ARC-CO Payments
Yesterday, we released a report on the estimated corn ARC-CO net payments per acre based upon a corn MYA price ranging from $3.50 to $4.00. Today, we are releasing the estimated soybean ARC-CO net payments based upon soybean MYA prices ranging from $9.25 to $10.50 in 25 cent increments. I was surprised how many counties […]
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NASS County Data Is Out
NASS just released data yesterday on corn and soybean (along with some other crops) yields by county for 2014. NASS presents yield per harvested acre in their report, however, yield per planted acre is the requirement for ARC-CO payment calculations. Therefore, you cannot simply take the yield listed per NASS and use that in your calculations. In […]
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Will FAV Favor ARC-IC
For farmers who grow vegetables (sweet corn, sugar beets, green peas, etc.), a reduction in their base acres for payments may occur each year. FAV (fruits and vegetables) requires farmers to reduce their base acres for acres planted to either fruits or vegetables. Since the new programs do not make payments on all base acres, farmers […]
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Harvert Price Option Event on the Hill
Tomorrow, February 12, 2015, Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Representative John Duncan Jr. (R-TN) will introduce legislation pertaining to the Harvest Price Option (HPO) available for most revenue crop insurance programs. The HPO allows for a claim when prices are actually higher than the initial discovery price. For example, during the 2012 drought, having this option […]
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Is a Bird in Hand Worth 4 in the Bush?
For many of our farmers mulling the decision between ARC and PLC it comes down to is it better to grab the “bird in hand” by electing ARC-CO on all corn acres (and wheat in the Pacifc Northwest) versus electing PLC in case prices go low for several straight years. I have run numerous calculations […]
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My Neighbor is Getting an ARC Payment, Why Not Me!
I am starting to hear some of the “coffee talk” about neighbors getting ARC-CO payments for corn this year, but the farmer is not getting one and they ask “How can that be?”. Now, the term neighbor can be a little borad since the neighbor may be 10-20 miles away, however, they may be at least […]
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Estimated Wheat ARC-CO for PNW Counties
I spoke at the Spokane Farm Forum yesterday on the choices between ARC-CO and PLC and thought I would update estimated net payments for wheat ARC-CO for some of the counties located in the Pacific Northwest. Based on actual state data, Washington, Oregon and Idaho are estimated to have the largest wheat ARC-CO payments for […]