Published: July 04, 2009 06:11 pm         

Ag meet set July 13

Agriculture producers and agriculture stakeholders are encouraged to attend a meeting presented by Garfield County U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency and Garfield County Cooperative Extension Ser-vice at 2 p.m. on July 13.

The meeting will be at Chisholm Trail Pavilion on the Garfield County Fair-grounds.

Aug. 14 is the deadline to elect and enroll in the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) under the current USDA farm bill. It is the intent of this producer meeting to help answer questions producers and landowners have regarding the implications of this agriculture revenue earning opportunity.

As part of the discussion regarding the ACRE Program, a software tool produced by Oklahoma State University agriculture economics specialists will be highlighted as part of the resources available.

Also being discussed will be the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE). SURE provides benefits for farm revenue losses due to natural disaster. It is the 2008 farm bill’s successor to the prior Ad Hoc Crop Disaster Programs, also known as the CDP or Crop Disaster Programs. Farmers will have a chance during the meeting to also view examples of the SURE payment calculator.

These calculators should help farmers better determine what impact enrolling in, or not enrolling in ACRE might have on the revenue earnings of a farm.

Krey Reimer, FSA Garfield County director, and Rodney Jones, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service northwest area ag econ specialist, will present information that should help explain the intent of these 2008 farm bill opportunities. They also will be available to answer questions regarding this potentially complex farm management decision.

Contact Garfield County USDA-FSA office, 237-4321, or Garfield County Extension Center, at 237-1228, for information.