The USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) has announced fruit and vegetable provisions that affect producers who intend to participate in certain programs authorized by the Agricultural Act of 2014, according to a press release from the Georgia FSA office.
"Similar to previous programs that we've administered, planting fruits and vegetables on base acres on a farm can result in a payment reduction for program participants," said David Laster, acting state executive director for the Georgia FSA.
Producers who intend to participate in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs are subject to an acre-for-acre payment reduction when fruits and nuts and/or vegetables are planted on the payment acres of a farm. Planting fruits or vegetables on acres that are not considered payment acres will not result in a payment reduction. Farms that are eligible to participate in ARC/PLC but are not enrolled for a particular year may plant unlimited fruits and/or vegetables for that year but will not receive ARC/PLC payments for that year. Eligibility for succeeding years is not affected.
Planting and harvesting fruits and/or vegetables on ARC/PLC acreage is subject to the acre-for-acre payment reduction when those crops are planted on either more than 15 percent of the base acres of a farm enrolled in ARC using the county coverage or PLC, or more than 35 percent of the base acres of a farm enrolled in ARC using the individual coverage.
Fruits and vegetables that are planted in a double-cropping practice will not cause a payment reduction if the farm is in a double-cropping region as designated by the USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation.
Source : gfb.org