Disaster Protection Plans For Almost All Crops (and some livestock)

By John Berry

The foundation farm risk management plans available to provide significant protection remain centered on crop insurance. However, the 2014 Farm Bill does provide additional disaster safety net choices.  While these new farm bill features are available at no cost to farmers – we need to understand these Farm Bill features are designed to only offer protection at 8.5% of our expected revenues; at most. Compare this to the (up to) 85% protection coverage we can get with crop insurance.

The new ARC / PLC programs are intended as safety net programs in time of disaster and are best used when combined with crop insurance and/or NAP products. ARC / PLC are not a total risk management plan by themselves.

Our 2014 Farm Bill legislates the expectation that each producer is personally responsible to develop and implement a risk management plan for their farm(s) before program enrollment deadlines. In addition to the appropriate use of crop insurance and NAP – this includes the use of ARC / PLC.

If you have questions about the Crops Programs in the Farm Bill known as PLC / ARC; Penn State Extension and the Farm Service Agency invite you to learn more about the features of these new programs, the decisions you need to make, and what these decisions could mean for your farm

There are educational sessions on ARC / PLC decision making scheduled near you. The agenda for these 2014 Farm Bill Program Crops Information Sessions includes:

•     Base acre reallocation
•     Program crops yield updating
•     Key components of PLC, ARC-CO, ARC-IC, and SCO
•     How these programs compare
•     Exploring a sample county farm scenario
•     Accessing and using the on-line decision tools
•     Process for sign up
•     Questions and Answers

Registration for these events is free. Just show up and participate. A Penn State Extension Educator and FSA representatives will be on hand to answer your questions.

The current schedule for these sessions is:

December

3 York; 9:00-11:00 am & 6:00-8:00 pm
10 Adams, 9:00-11:00: Franklin/Fulton 1:00-3:00
16 Columbia/Montour, 6:30 pm
17 Huntingdon, 9:00-11:00, Blair, 1:00-3:00
18 Lancaster, 9:30-12:30; Berks, 2:00-4:00
19 Northumberland, 9:00-11:00, Schuylkill, 1:00-3:00
22 Armstrong, 9:00-11:00, Butler, 1:00-3:00
23 Cambria, 9:00-11:00, Indiana, 1:00-3:00
29 Venango/Warren TBD
30 Mercer/Lawrence, 9:00-11:00, 1:00-3:00, and 6:30-8:30pm

January

6 Bradford/Sullivan 9:00-11:00, Susquehanna/Wyoming 1:00-3:00
8 Dauphin, 9:00-11:00, Cumberland, 1:00-3:00
9 Snyder/Union, 9:00-11:00, Juniata/Mifflin, 1:00-3:00
16 Montgomery, 9:00-11:00, Bucks, 1:00-3:00
22 Carbon/Monroe, 9-11 & 1-3 (location TBD)
23 Lehigh/Northampton, 9:00-11:00 & 1:00- 3:00
29 Clarion, 9:00-11:00, Jefferson/Elk/Clearfield 1:00-3:00, 6:30-8:30pm

February

3 Butler, 9:00-11:00, Armstrong, 1:00-3:00, Butler 6:30-8:30pm
5 Indiana, 9:00-11:00, Cambria, 1:00-3:00
6 Somerset, 10:00-12:00, Bedford, 1:00-3:00, Cumberland, 6:30-8:30pm
9 McKean, 1:00-3:00, Potter, 6:30-8:30pm
10 Perry, 1:00-3:00
17 Westmoreland, 9:00-11:00, New Stanton, 1:00-3:00, Washington, 6:30-8:30pm
18 Lackawanna/Wayne/ Pike/Luzerne, 1:00-3:00
19 Erie, 9:00-11:00, Crawford, 1:00-3:00
24 Centre/Clinton, 1:00-3:00

Source:psu.edu