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Ohio Farm Bureau Federation partnered with Ohio Corn Growers, Ohio Soybean Association, Ohio Wheat Growers Association and Ohio Vegetable and Potato Growers Association to host two rounds of Farm Bill informational meetings to help producers understand the bill and apply it to their farms.

At the Sept. 12 meeting in St. Mary's speakers Barry Goodwin and Carl Zulauf, agricultural economics professors at Ohio State University, and Bill Penn, an attorney, discussed the major provisions and implications of the 2002 farm bill.

The bill calls for higher loan rates for most crops; provides direct payments for wheat, feed grains, cotton, and rice; expands eligibility for direct payments to producers of oilseeds and peanuts; and offers counter-cyclical payments to farmers when commodity prices fall below their target prices. Producers have the option to update the bases and yields used to calculate counter-cyclical payments.

All of the speakers encouraged producers to keep very detailed and complete documentation to support their production claims. Farm Service Agency said it began accepting yield updates in mid-September. On Oct. 1, producers may apply for the direct and counter-cyclical payment programs, and all applications for updates must be received by April 1.

Zulauf pointed out the bill increases conservation spending by 80 percent. The Conservation Reserve, Wetlands Reserve, Farmland Protection, Wildlife Habitat Incentives and Environmental Quality Incentives Programs all were expanded. "It is important for agriculture to demonstrate by 2006 that these [conservation] programs are making a difference," he said.

The OFBF Web site, www.ofbf.org, contains links to Web sites that provide a yield/payment calculator, and direct access to Farm Service Agency's farm bill Web site. The Ohio State yield/payment calculator calculates total farm program payments under various base acreage and program yield updating options. Program payments estimated include fixed payments and counter-cyclical payments that are decoupled from planting decisions. There are many mixed scenarios that may exist from operation to operation. It may be best to go through your whole operation by hand.