Farm safety net program deadline Sept. 30

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DARKE COUNTY – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is alerting farmers of a Sept. 30 deadline for several key Farm Bill safety net programs.

These programs — such as Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC), Price Loss Coverage (PLC), and the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy) — provide important risk protection for farm and dairy operations across Ohio. ARC and PLC programs trigger financial protections for agricultural producers when market forces cause substantial drops in crop prices or revenues.

Covered commodities under the programs include barley, canola, large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, long grain rice, medium grain rice (which includes short grain and sweet rice), safflower seed, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed, and wheat.

The elections for each farm stay in place through 2018, but ownership and shares can be adjusted through the annual enrollment. For additional program information, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc.

MPP-Dairy offers protection to producers when the difference between the milk price and the average feed cost (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer. Participating dairy farmers will remain in the program through 2018 and pay a $100 administrative fee each year.

Producers also have the option of selecting a different coverage level during open enrollment each year. MPP-Dairy payments are based on an operation’s historical production, which will increase by 2.61 percent in 2016, if the operation participated in 2015, providing a stronger safety net.

More than half of the nation’s dairy producers are enrolled in the program. For more information, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/dairy.

For more program information, contact your FSA office or visit www.fsa.usda.gov. To find your local FSA office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.

Staff report

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