Thune, Heitkamp Lead Bipartisan Effort to Support Farmers with Losses Due to Unplanted Crops

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Jun 05 2014

Thune, Heitkamp Lead Bipartisan Effort to Support Farmers with Losses Due to Unplanted Crops

As New Farm Bill is Implemented, Proper Treatment of Prevented Plant Acres Important for Upper Great Plains

Washington, D.C. - 

U.S. Senators John Thune (R-South Dakota) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota) today led a bipartisan effort to support farmers who are prevented from planting crops due to adverse weather by sending a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting that approved prevented planting acres are included in each farmer’s and county’s current year calculation to determine baseline revenue.

As USDA implements the 2014 Farm Bill, the senators want to ensure farmers receive appropriate and accurate support, as intended by Congress, from the Agriculture Risk Coverage safety net program by using the correct current year revenue calculation. In their letter, the senators point out that such action by USDA would be consistent with crop insurance calculations and the 2008 Farm Bill’s Average Crop Revenue Election Program, which used prevented planting acres in the calculation to determine its safety-net payment triggers.

“Loss of a crop due to prevented planting can be just as devastating to a farming operation as production losses due to drought, flooding, or other natural disasters. Providing the most accurate picture of farm revenue is critical because the calculated threshold will determine which farms will receive assistance and at what levels under both individual and county Agricultural Risk Coverage programs,” the senators wrote. “If prevented planting acres are not properly utilized in the revenue calculation, we are concerned that the program will not provide an adequate safety net for growers in our states and throughout the country when adverse weather conditions result in crops from being planted.”

The senators also called on USDA to exclude prevented planting acreage when determining the benchmark average yield per farm. This will make sure average production calculations are not skewed by prevented planting.

Thune and Heitkamp were joined in their effort by U.S. Senators Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota), John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), and Al Franken (D-Minnesota).

The text of the senators’ letter follows:
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June 5, 2014
Mr. Tom Vilsack
Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack:

Loss of a crop due to prevented planting can be just as devastating to a farming operation as production losses due to drought, flooding, or other natural disasters.  The 2014 Farm Bill authorized Commodity Title programs designed to provide a safety net that complements crop insurance. This is achieved through a combination of crop insurance coverage options and programs that are triggered when a farmer experiences qualifying production losses and/or price collapses in any given year.

To ensure the 2014 Farm Bill safety net provisions are consistently applied for production losses, we write to request that acres of approved prevented planting be included in the calculation to determine current year revenue for both the individual and county levels under the Agricultural Risk Coverage Program. For safety net programs to function effectively as risk mitigation tools that serve the needs of all regions of the country, approved prevented planting acres must be used to determine current year revenue. We point out that prevented planting acres were used to determine the farm level payment triggers under the 2008 Farm Bill’s Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program. In addition, the prevented planting acres should be excluded in the benchmark yield calculations, as they are in the crop insurance APH yield data base and were in the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program, for both the individual and county level benchmark yield calculations under the Agricultural Risk Coverage Program.

A point stressed by many members throughout the Farm Bill debate was the need for equitable treatment for producers who lost crops and production due to prevented planting.  Equitable treatment can be achieved under the individual and county level Agricultural Risk Coverage Program, only if approved prevented planting acres are used in the calculation for determining current year revenue beginning with the 2014 and for future crop years.

As you implement the Farm Bill Commodity Title programs we ask that you recognize the devastating impacts prevented plant acres have had on past years’ farm revenue and that you do not add to this financial hardship by failing to use approved prevent plant acres to determine 2014 and future years’ revenue.
Providing the most accurate picture of farm revenue is critical because the calculated threshold will determine which farms will receive assistance and at what levels under both individual and county Agricultural Risk Coverage programs.

If prevented planting acres are not properly utilized in the revenue calculation, we are concerned that the program will not provide an adequate safety net for growers in our states and throughout the country when adverse weather conditions result in crops from being planted.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. We appreciate your dedicated service to American agricultural and rural communities, and look forward to working with you on issues related to Farm Bill implementation going forward.

Sincerely,