The NCC webinars included a focus on differences in 2014 and 2018 farm law Title 1 programs.
■ The NCC’s webinar presentation is on the NCC website (www.cotton.org) and a 24-minute video is on the NCC’s YouTube channel. It features Dr. Jody Campiche, the NCC’s vice president of Economics and Policy Analysis discussing the webinar’s major topics: 1) Key Differences in Title 1 Programs: ARC-CO & PLC Programs, Seed Cotton Provisions; 2) Seed Cotton Marketing Year Average (MYA) Price Calculation; 3) Seed Cotton PLC/ARC-CO Provisions and Examples; 4) Base Acres, Payment Yield Update, Marketing Loan Provisions, Payment Limits & Eligibility; and 5) ARC/PLC Election & Enrollment, STAX/SCO Eligibility, ARC/PLC, Yield Update, Disaster Assistance, MFP.
NCC members also can go to the NCC’s farm bill resources page that is periodically updated and soon will include a 2018 farm law webinar FAQ document.
What kind of information was discussed in the webinar?
■ Key differences in Title 1 programs is a good example of an important topic that was discussed. Under the 2018 farm law, for example, farms planted entirely to grass or pasture, including cropland that was idle or fallow, from 2009-2017 are no longer eligible for ARC/PLC payments.
However, if 1 acre of one covered commodity was planted in any year between 2009-2017, the farm will remain eligible for ARC/PLC payments. Under the 2014 farm bill, producers made a one-time ARC/PLC election by crop and by farm that remained in effect for the 2014-2018 crop years for commodities other than seed cotton. For seed cotton, producers made an ARC/PLC election effective for the 2018 crop year.
The ARC/PLC provisions in the 2018 farm law allow producers to make an ARC/PLC election by crop and by farm for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 crop years. Beginning with the 2021-22 crop year, producers will make an annual ARC/PLC election.
Several changes were made to the ARC county program in the 2018 farm law. Payment rates now will be based on the county where each farm is physically located compared with the Farm Service Agency administrative county for each farm in the 2014 farm law.
“1”]For ARC county data sources, FSA will use Risk Management Agency data when available, followed by National Agricultural Statistics Service data and then data from State Committee sources. The criteria for calculating separate ARC county irrigated and non-irrigated yields was revised in the 2018 farm law.
The county will qualify if RMA irrigated and non-irrigated yield data are available in three of the five years between 2013 and 2017 or using FSA data from 2013-2017, at least 10% of the acreage was irrigated and 10% non-irrigated and an average of 5,000 acres was planted in every year from 2013-2017.
There are also some 2014 and 2018 farm law differences regarding the PLC program along with other helpful information in the NCC webinar presentation and videos. I encourage NCC members and others to access these as they provide important details.
Gary Adams is president/CEO of the National Cotton Council of America. He and other NCC leaders contribute columns on this Cotton Farming page.