WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2013 — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack frequently talks about the need for the U.S. Congress to pass a new farm bill, but he is moving ahead with sign-up for some of the programs extended from the 2008 farm bill.
Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., heralded the announcement.
"I want to commend Secretary Vilsack for today’s announcement that sign-up for farm programs, including direct payments, will begin on February 19th. It is vitally important that our farmers, and lenders alike, know that Congress and the Administration intend to keep the commitment made with the one-year extension of the 2008 farm bill. Short of a five-year bill, this extension provides certainty for the 2013 crop year.
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extended the authorization of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) for many Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) commodity, disaster, and conservation programs through 2013. FSA administers these programs.
The extended programs include, among others: the Direct and Counter-Cyclical Payment Program (DCP), the Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE), and the Milk Income Loss Contract Program (MILC).
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) issued the following guidance this afternoon, which details sign-up times:
· FSA will begin sign-ups for DCP and ACRE for the 2013 crops on Feb. 19, 2013. The DCP sign-up period will end on Aug. 2, 2013; the ACRE sign-up period will end on June 3, 2013.
The 2013 DCP and ACRE program provisions are unchanged from 2012, except that all eligible participants in 2013 may choose to enroll in either DCP or ACRE for the 2013 crop year. This means that eligible producers who were enrolled in ACRE in 2012 may elect to enroll in DCP in 2013 or may re-enroll in ACRE in 2013 (and vice versa).
· All dairy producers’ MILC contracts are automatically extended to Sept. 30, 2013. Eligible producers therefore do not need to re-enroll in MILC. Specific details regarding certain modifications to MILC will be released soon.
FSA will provide producers with information on program requirements, updates and signups as the information becomes available. Any additional details will be posted on FSA’s website.
For more information about the programs and loans administered by FSA, visit any FSA county office or www.fsa.usda.gov.
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