MARKET FACILITATION PROGRAM BEGINS TODAY

Lindsay Mitchell

Sep 04, 2018  |  Today's News |  Exports |  Legislation & Regulation

The Market Facilitation Program that will provide direct payments to help corn, cotton, sorghum, soybean, wheat, dairy and hog farmers who have been directly impacted by illegal retaliatory tariffs, begins today.  If farmers plan to apply for the payments, they must due so before January 15, 2019.

 

However, the USDA/FSA has indicated that farmers only have to complete the required CCC-910 form one time and that the process was designed to allow farmers to apply for a payment with one stop to their FSA office. 

 

To take advantage of this one stop process, corn and soybean farmers should consider waiting until after their harvest is completed to file for their Market Facilitation Program payment. 

 

Farmers will have to certify their final yield before receiving a check under this program.  Therefore, if farmers apply in their local FSA office this week (or anytime prior to harvest completion), they will have to visit again to sign and certify final yields.

 

The initial MFP rates are as follows:

  • Cotton $0.06 per pound
  • Corn $0.01 per bushel
  • Dairy $0.12 per cwt
  • Hogs $8.00 per head (owned on August 1, 2018)
  • Sorghum $0.86 per bushel
  • Soybeans $1.65 per bushel
  • Wheat $0.14 per bushel

 

According to the Illinois FSA office, the MFP payment equals 2018 total production of the farmer times 50% times the MFP rate.  For example, a farmer who harvested 100,000 bushels of wheat would receive an initial MRP payment totaling $7,000 (100,000 bushels times 50% times $0.14 per bushel).  A second payment, if available, may be issued using a different MFP rate.

 

Revised MFP rates will be received on or about December 3, 2018.  A farmer will not have to reregister in order to receive the second payment after December 3, 2018. 

 

A payment limitation of $125,000 is imposed on the MFP payments.  This payment limitation does not apply to payment limitations reflected in the 2014 Farm Bill.

 

For more information about the MFP program, visit www.farmers.gov/MFP or contact your local FSA office.  You may reach out via email to IL Corn with questions, but please know that we are not the governing authority on the Market Facilitation Program and can only reflect information provided to us as we understand it.