April 20, 2009      

   March 31, 2009

     Signup Deadline Extended to August 14, 2009

        Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in testimony before the House Appropriations
    Subcommittee on Agriculture said, "lastly, in response to concerns I have heard from
    producers worried about the upcoming June deadline for farm program sign-up, I am
    announcing today that USDA will be extending the sign-up deadline to August 14.
    This action should provide producers with sufficient time to learn about the new
    ACRE Program and to make informed decisions about their sign-up options."

   March 18, 2009

       The Farm Service Agency recently updated some of their information regarding Average Crop
     Revenue Election (ACRE). Some of the additions include a Backgrounder, Factsheet,
     PowerPoint Presentation, Preliminary ACRE Program Parameter Update, more.
            
        USDA-FSA ACRE Website

ACRE Calculators

        The Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at University of Missouri released
     their ACRE calculator this week. The calculator is set up to run a stochastic analysis
     (accounting for variability) for corn, soybeans, cotton, rice, wheat, and grain sorghum in
     the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio. To the best
     of our knowledge, this is the only system currently offered that includes cotton, rice, and
    sorghum.
         http://www.fapri.missouri.edu/farmers_corner/tools/ACRE.asp

        Other calculators we have mentioned in previous updates are listed below.
     University of Illinois – ACRE Comparison Program.  This calculator is set up to run
     corn, soybeans, and wheat in all states.
         http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu/pubs/FASTtool.asp?category=farm

        Iowa State University – ACRE Payment Calculators 
    These spreadsheets are setup for corn, soybeans, and wheat in all states.
         http://www.card.iastate.edu/ag_risk_tools/acre/
 

  Added 4/20/09