03/28/05 Government payments to Idaho ag producers

Direct payments by the government to all of US agriculture in 2004 is estimated at 15.7 billion dollars. That accounts for 21 percent of all US net farm income but in Idaho it's less than nine percent of the income. In fact, Idaho got about one percent of the total federal payments last year or roughly 148 million dollars. So where did that money go? Production flexibility contracts were the single largest category of government payments in that fiscal year accounting for 43 percent of the total or 63 million dollars. Second at 28 percent were conservation program payments. The 41 million-dollar outlay was four million higher than 2003. Third at 17 percent were disaster or emergency payments. The total was 25 million last year. Fourth at just over 18 million dollars or twelve percent of the total were price support payments. LDPs, Loan Deficiency Payments made up the majority at over 12 million dollars. Government payments have been fluctuating over the past 20 years. In 1987 Idaho farmers got 234 million dollars in direct payments. In 1995 that dropped to 90 million. Since 2000 government payments have declined more than 57 percent. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott