Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently addressed the USDA’s work in the 90 days since the 2014 farm bill was signed.
Vilsack said since the bill signing, USDA has made progress on all titles including announcements on trade and marketing promotion, the establishment of conservation programs, the initiation of specialty crop and local food programs and funding for rural development programs.
Major initiatives implemented were disaster relief programs for livestock producers. Farmers could apply for the Livestock Indemnity Program and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program starting April 15.
The USDA reported receiving approximately 33,000 applications and disbursing $16.3 million in disaster relief assistance from the 2014 Farm Bill as of May 1.
Farmers have until Jan. 30, 2015, to apply for losses incurred from Oct. 1, 2011 to Dec. 31, 2014.
Producers may soon enroll in risk management programs. The USDA is accepting applications from colleges and universities to create web-based tools to give producers information on the Agricultural Risk Coverage Program; the Price Loss Coverage Program; larger protection programs for dairy; and the non-insured crop disaster assistance program.
Director of National Legislative Affairs for the Alabama Farmers Federation Mitt Walker said it’s important farmers start thinking about how new provisions will impact their operations.
“Farmers will have to make a number of decisions such as reallocating base acres and choosing between two new commodity title programs based on price or revenue protection,” Walker said, adding the decision-making software will be helpful in the process.
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