Key developer Of 2014 Farm Bill Decision Aid To Hold Demos In Arkansas on Feb. 5-6

By Mary Hightower

Fast facts

• Co-developer of Farm Bill decision aid to offer three demos
• Feb. 5 features webinar and in-person demonstration at Stuttgart
• Feb. 6 demonstration in person at Jonesboro
• For info: contact Robert Coats, 501-671-2195
• Demos are part of a wider schedule of education sessions to run through March

 A co-developer of a web-based aid to help farmers to make the critical one-time decisions demanded by the 2014 Farm Bill will be in Arkansas demonstrating the program on Feb. 5 in Stuttgart and Feb. 6 in Jonesboro.

“The 2014 Farm Bill provides farmers three major farm program options: payment Yield Update, Base Reallocation, and the choice between three safety net programs,” said Robert Coats, extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “Time is running out for making these one-time, irrevocable decisions.”

Leading the demonstrations is James Richardson, co-director of the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M. The center, along with the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri, were awarded a grant by the USDA to develop the decision aid.

The three demonstrations are:

• Feb. 5, 9 a.m. – 2 webinars. Participants may register using this link: https://uaex.zoom.us/webinar/register/c6ed14053234bd3e4ac87b605f06faf5.
• Richardson will have a 2014 Farm Bill Decision Aid Training Session
• Larry McMaster, USDA-Risk Management Agency, Jackson, Mississppi, Regional Office will discuss the Crop Insurance - Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) for Upland Cotton.
• Feb. 5, 2 p.m. – In-person demonstration, Stuttgart, Grand Prairie Center.
• Feb. 6, 8 a.m. – In-person demonstration, Jonesboro. NE Arkansas Fairgrounds.

The demonstrations will include a Q&A.

The decision aid has been vetted by Farm Service Agency and counts more than 20,000 users from across the United States. The web-based decision aid provides easy data entry and management by farmers to answer these and more questions:

• Will my payment yield increase if I certify my yields with Farm Service Agency?
• What are my potential base acres if I reallocate base?
• What is the economic benefit (expected payments) if I reallocate my base acres?
• Should I sign up all of my crops in the same program: Price Loss Coverage, PLC, or Agricultural Risk Coverage, ARC?
• Should I elect PLC or ARC on different farm numbers and for different crops?
• How can I assign or deploy my generic (formally cotton) base acres?
• Should I buy Supplemental Coverage Option, or SCO, if I elect PLC on each crop?
• Should I change my underlying crop insurance coverage?
• What is my most profitable crop insurance policy and level of coverage for each crop?
• Should I buy SCO or STAX for my cotton?

Source:uwex.edu