A safety net for farmers in a shaky economy and during a time of high volatility in commodity prices should be a top priority for lawmakers, according to Sam Willett, public policy director for the National Corn Growers Association.
For that reason, Willett focused the majority of his presentation at a Colorado Corn meeting in Platteville on changes he and association officials hope will be made to the Average Crop Revenue Election program before the 2012 Farm Bill is finalized.
The ACRE program was put in place as part of the 2008 Farm Bill to provide farmers with an additional option for reimbursements for damaged or destroyed crops.
However, the program hasn’t been heavily used by farmers — at least in Weld County, July 25 meeting attendees noted — because of the complexities in the program and the long-term commitments required from farmers, among other issues.
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