Ag Policy
-
ARC Could Lock in More Revenue Than Crop Insurance
We have written several posts on Agricultural Risk Coverage over the last couple of weeks, however, the Olympic average calculations called for in ARC may yield higher income levels than crop insurance for the 2014 and 2015 crop years. ARC is calculated by taking the average revenue for either county or individual coverage. This Olympic […]
-
Some ACA Relief for Employers with 50 to 99 Employees
The Department of Treasury issued Regulations today (Monday, February 10) announcing that employers with more than 50 employees but less than 100 would not have to offer health insurance or pay a “responsibility” penalty until 2016 (one year later than the postponed 2015 requirement). Additionally, it appears that seasonal employees that are not expected to […]
-
Margin Protection for Dairy Producers
Dairy farmers are now starting to enjoy healthy margins after several years of either breakeven or loss margins. The new farm bill provides margin protection for dairy farmers. This margin protection is calculated based on the difference between the “all-milk price” and average feed cost. Average feed cost is calculated as the sum of the price for: […]
-
Which is Better – ARC or PLC + SCO
Crop farmers will have two program options to consider under the new Farm Bill. Option # 1 is Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) which covers the risk of the farmer not receiving targeted revenue between the 76% and 86% band. If “actual” revenues calculated by the USDA fall within this band, then the farmer will collect […]
-
FSA Does Not Understand Tax Return Income
We received some correspondence from a CPA whose is battling with the FSA on the definition of AGI for S corporations, LLCs, LLPs, LPs and other similar entities. The FSA manual on page 6-12 lists the line items from federal income tax returns for computing AGI for purposes of payment limitations. For corporations filing using Form 1120 […]
-
10% of Benchmark Revenue not Benchmark Guarantee
A problem with trying to read a 900 page plus farm bill on a small laptop screen is that it is very easy to misread some of the fine print. A reader gave us a comment regarding ARC that the maximum payout is 10% of benchmark revenue, not benchmark guarantee. In this case, the actual amount […]
-
Crop Insurance Changes in New Farm Bill
Supplement Coverage Option (SCO) will be available to a farmer who elects Price Loss Coverage (PLC) instead of Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC). ARC provides similar coverage, however, there is no premium to be paid by the farmer, but there is a limit on the amount of payment that a farmer can receive. With SCO, the farmer can […]
-
Price Loss Coverage – What is it?
Yesterday, we posted on Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC). Today we will go over the rules on Price Loss Coverage (PLC). ARC is based upon both a yield and price component, whereas, PCL is based strictly on price. The USDA will determine the average crop price during each marketing year and compare that to the “base” price […]
-
How To Make an Extra $100 Per Acre!
I spent part of today reviewing the new Farm Bill that was signed by the House today and most likely law by next week. I spent most of the time reviewing the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) which is one option that farmers can sign up for. The other option is the Price Loss Coverage which […]
-
Top Producer – Day 1
Yesterday I spent most of the day in Coldwater, Michigan and I can tell you that the first four letters of that name was very appropriate. It was about 15 degrees below zero when I got up and I think it peaked out at zero later in the day. The event I attended was the […]