Average Crop Revenue Election
The Average Crop Revenue Election program (ACRE) was new for the 2009 crop year and the Farm Service Agency reported a total of 12,995,012 corn acres were enrolled in ACRE. That means that of all eligible corn acres in the US, 15.6% were enrolled in 2009 and 21.8% of those acres were enrolled by Illinois farmers, ranking the state #1 relative to the percentage of corn acres on a state by state basis that were enrolled in the ACRE program at that time.
Illinois Corn believes that the first try at a revenue based program was successful and we look forward to improving the program in the next farm bill based on your input and experiences in ACRE. In fact, we have already developed an idea we think best benefits Illinois corn farmers and had that idea adopted by the National Corn Growers Association as the farm policy program pursued by all corn farmers in the nation. You can learn more about that program, called ADAP, by clicking here.
In the meantime, if you’re still learning more about the ACRE program, check out the ACRE Comparison Program which will allow you to compare your farm’s income under traditional farm programs and under the ACRE Program. Also look at the ACRE Payment Estimator which helps estimate the payments you might expect under the ACRE program in a given year.
Finally, a general overview of the program was provided during a series of webinar’s that Illinois Corn hosted in 2009. You can look at the slides used in the webinar here and even follow along with Dr. Schnitkey and Dr. Paulsen as they talk by clicking here and downloading the audio file of one webinar.
Other ACRE Resources:
ACRE FAQ – A list of frequently asked questions Dr. Schnitkey was able to answer as we learned more about ACRE
ACRE for Landowners – If you are having difficulty explaining ACRE to your landowner or convincing them that it’s the right program for their farm, perhaps this fact sheet would be of use.