The United States Department of Agriculture’s ‘safety net’ checks are in the mail for 2015’s crops. Across the nation, $7 billion will be sent to farmers enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs, which is 50% more than what was paid out for the previous year’s crops.
“We saw about a $27 billion drop in revenue for farms that participate in the ARC-County program, so this $7 billion payment run that we are beginning certainly does not make folks whole, but it really helps,” says Val Dolcini, USDA Farm Service Agency Administrator.
The contribution will account for about 10% of the USDA’s forecasted net farm income for the coming year. Roughly $1 billion will go to wheat farmers, $1 billion to soybean growers and $4 billion to corn growers.
