Northwest state tops nation in percentage of farms in ACRE

Farm and Ranch October 22, 2009 USDA this week released preliminary data on enrollment in the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program, DCP and the new Average Crop Revenue Election program or ACRE for 2009.

While Illinois had the largest number of farms enrolled in ACRE, Washington state led the nation with the largest percentage of farms participating in the new optional revenue program at nearly 25 percent. The nearly 25-hundred farms represent about 42 percent of the total program crop base acres in Washington, most of which is wheat.

Both Idaho and Oregon had 7.2 percent of farms enrolled in ACRE. The 991 farms participating in Idaho represent about 18 percent of base acres in the state while the 448 Oregon farms in ACRE represent about 26 percent of base acres. Again most of the base acres are wheat.

So how do the northwest numbers compare nationally? Brent Orr is with the USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Washington D.C.

Orr: “2009 with a fairly decent percentage of farms that chose to participate in ACRE. Of the 1.8 million farms that typically enroll in DCP the number was, at this point, 128,642 farms chose to participate in ACRE, which represents roughly 11% of the base that was available in the U.S.”

To participate in ACRE farmers agreed to give up some of the direct payment they would have received under DCP and also take a lower loan rate and stay with ACRE through 2012.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.