Home

Ag Economists Upbeat on ACRE Program Benefits

July 22, 2009 - 11:00pm

July 22: With the Aug. 14 enrollment deadline for the new Average Crop Revenue Election Program -- also called ACRE -- only weeks away, the National Corn Growers Association is reaching out to farmers with the latest tools and information to make their decision easier.

In recent weeks, NCGA has posted numerous new documents and links to the ACRE Resource Center -- including projected state-by-state crop revenue guarantees, an FSA production records form, the ACRE webinar rebroadcast link and the updated ACRE calculator. There is also a link to a new document, "ACRE for Landowners," that compares landowner ACRE and DCP program returns for both share and cash rent agreements under a base 2009 Expected Payout per Planted Acre, and three other alternatives.

Agriculture economists at various universities are also discussing the benefits of ACRE. Here is what they have to say:

Bruce Babcock, Iowa State University: "Odds are good that in at least one year over the next four, Iowa farmers will receive more in ACRE payments than they will give up in direct payments over the life of the farm bill. For corn, there is a 78 percent chance that Iowa farmers who sign up for ACRE will receive a payment."

Art Barnaby, Kansas State University: "With the decline in prices, many ACRE models are starting to show potential corn ACRE payments of $100 or more per acre. NASS will release a new price on July 30 and their first yield estimate on Aug. 12. This will give corn, grain sorghum and soybean producers more information to make their final ACRE decision. The Aug. 12 NASS yield report could be a game changer in some states."

Jim Hilker, Michigan State University: "Even if the state and your farm have an average yield, just the lower prices expected relative to the past two years will trigger ACRE payments of $68.48 per acre if prices do average $3.25 and you have a similar yield to the state yield. If your Olympic average ACRE yield is higher than 138, then you will have even higher payments and vice versa."

Link: ACRE Resource Center