Server: Netscape-Enterprise/2.01 Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 18:07:55 GMT Content-type: text/html AgInputs Feb/March 1997

Ag Inputs

February/March Volume 7 Issue 6


Contents

Earn Some Extra Cash Easily

Enrolling Ground in "New" CRP Will Now Be Easier

CRC Expanded In Several States

States Approved for CRC

Changes Made In Customer Invoices

Grain Marketing Advice Is On The Way

Look For Us In Successful Farming

 


Earn Some Extra Cash Easily

How would you like to earn $250 with one phone call?

It’s simple. Ag Services is once again offering a referral bonus for the names of friends, neighbors or relatives that could benefit from our program.

You will receive a $250 referral bonus for every customer recommended that participates in our crop input supply and financing program.

If you know someone who could benefit from our program or has questions concerning referrals, please contact our Sales and Marketing Department at 1-800-395-8505.

Ag Services thanks you for your business and appreciates your help in our continued success.


Enrolling Ground in "New" CRP Will Now Be Easier

When lawmakers started rewriting and reworking the rules and regulations of the Conservation Reserve Program, each new piece of information suggested the "new" CRP would be harder to get ground into and, more importantly, keep ground in.

However, as the final "new" rules and regulations came closer to announcement, significant changes were announced in proposed CRP regulations. Here’s a look at the most important expected policy shifts:

• Whole-field eligibility is expected to be determined by the need for a compliance plan. If one-third of the field has an Erodibility Index (EI) of 8 or higher, the entire field will be eligible for CRP enrollment. At the announcement of this change, Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) insisted, "If a field must have a compliance plan, it should qualify for CRP."

• Under the earlier eligibility proposal, only the portion of the field with an EI of greater than 8 would have qualified for CRP enrollment. That would have resulted in patchwork fields with corners and sidehills of vegetative cover surrounded by crop ground. And...the crop ground surrounding the patches of CRP would have an active conservation compliance plan. If not — no market transition payment. Under this early proposal, CRP regulation and payments would have been extremely costly and difficult to manage. Also, about 7.2 million acres of ground currently enrolled in the CRP would not have qualified for re-enrollment.

• Under the current proposal management will be much easier and regulation of the program will be much less costly. And the biggest market factor: Only about 3 million to 4 million existing CRP acres won’t qualify for re-enrollment — about half of the early expectations.

"Conservation priority areas" are an added feature to the CRP. States will be able to designate up to 20% of its cropland as an environmentally beneficial area. Some of that land may already be enrolled in the CRP...some may not. State officials will determine which ground will provide the greatest environmental benefit (either to wildlife or water quality) and waive any EI determination of CRP eligibility.

These priority areas are expected to replace much of the 3 million to 4 million acres that won’t make the grade under the new CRP rules. As a result, total CRP enrollment will likely stay near 36.4 million acres.

• Finally, it appears rental rates will remain near current levels...and may actually increase in some states. For example, Maryland and Minnesota made plans in early January to provide "supplemental" CRP rental payments to producers. Other states may follow their lead. Indications are states may be given the flexibility to up rental rates by 20% above the "maximum" federal rental payment.

Bottom line: This is a much more farmer-friendly proposal than earlier proposals. This will be a program that will benefit administrators, wildlife, producers and taxpayers.

This article was submitted by Professional Farmers of America (ProFarmer). For their newsletter information call 1-800-221-4352, extension 1121.

CRC Expanded In Several States

Crop Revenue Coverage has been expanded to additional corn and soybean states for 1997, as well as to limited areas for cotton, spring wheat and grain sorghum.

CRC provides growers with a revenue guarantee and protects against lost revenue caused by low prices, low yields or a combination of the two.

CRC will protect the farmer against price fluctuations, as well as yield losses. The standard MPCI program protects solely against yield losses. CRC allows farmers the economic security to obtain agricultural loans and increases their ability to use alternative marketing strategies, such as forward contracting, to increase their income.

CRC was first offered as a pilot program in 1996 for corn and soybeans in Iowa and Nebraska.

States Approved for CRC

Corn and Soybeans

Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas.

Spring Wheat

Minnesota, South Dakota, Washington, parts of Montana and parts of North Dakota.

Cotton

Arizona, Georgia, Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle.

Grain Sorghum

Producers in Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma, as well as parts of Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota, will have the opportunity to purchase CRC in 1997.


Changes Made In Customer Invoices

In order to better serve you, we have modified our customer invoices. The revisions will provide you with more accurate information.

The new features include an expanded quantity field, unit of measure (tons, pounds, gallons, etc.) and an expanded unit price.

As you receive these new invoices, please feel free to contact Ag Services at 1-800-395-8505 if you should have any questions.


Grain Marketing Advice Is On The Way

Your comments have been heard! Many of you have suggested we provide more marketing advice. We listened to your comments and have moved forward to bring you a new and exciting service.

Ag Services recently signed an agreement with Professional Market Management, Inc., which is an Oster Company, based in Cedar Falls, Iowa. This agreement provides the services you’ve been looking for.

This new service will give you the opportunity to gain information on market trends through updates in the Ag Inputs newsletter. Also, new customers of the Pro Farmer newsletter will receive discounted subscription rates. A professional grain marketing management service will also be available.

The final details of these services are still in the process of being completed. For more up-to-date information contact your credit or product manager or Mike Dillon at 800-395-8505.


Look For Us In Successful Farming

Ag Services will be featured in the March edition of Successful Farming in the Agriculture Online page. This article also provides information on other agronomic sites on the Web.


 

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