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Sign-up for certain portions of the $3.1 billion Agricultural Assistance Act of 2003 soon will begin, but at press time, the sign-up date for the biggest part of the aid package had not been announced.

The Tobacco Payment Program benefit sign-up starts March 17. The expanded Livestock Compensation Program (LCP) enrollment starts April 1. USDA is expected to announce sign-up dates for the Crop Disaster Program (CDP) soon.

The CDP will compensate farmers who had 2001 or 2002 losses in excess of 35 percent. Producers may receive payments for losses incurred in either year, but not both. Payments will be at 50 percent of the established price for producers who had crop insurance, noninsured crop disaster assistance program (NAP) coverage, or where these coverage options were not available. For producers who did not obtain insurance or NAP coverage, the payment rate will be 45 percent. CDP payments will be limited to $80,000 per farmer. A producer’s disaster payment and insurance/NAP payments cannot exceed 95 percent of what the farmer would have received without a crop loss. Also, producers who did not previously purchase insurance/NAP coverage must agree to purchase coverage for the next two years.

Under the Livestock Compensation Program, payments are based on losses per head of eligible livestock. This is an extension of the LCP announced last September, and it expands the counties that are eligible. Another part of the aid package is the Livestock Assistance Program (LAP) that covers grazing losses. Producers cannot be compensated under both the LCP and LAP.

Reacting to the aid package, AFBF President Bob Stallman was appreciative of the work done by Congress, but had some concerns. "We continue to believe that the $3.1 billion allocated for disaster aid will fall short of meeting the needs in farm country. We also have grave concerns that the disaster package is being funded from money set-aside for future farm bill spending. It is an unfortunate precedent that could undermine important programs, such as conservation. The farm bill was not designed to respond to weather disasters."

Additional information on the total disaster package is available on USDA’s Web site, which can be linked to from www.ofbf.org.

Farm Bureau supports this bill making changes in capital gains tax rates.

Under current law, capital gains tax rates are 20 percent for those whose income tax rate is 28 percent or higher. The rate will drop to 18 percent in 2006 for assets held five years. There is a second capital gains tax rate of 10 percent for those whose income is taxed at 15 percent or less.

H.R. 459 changes the top capital gains tax rate from 20 to 10 percent and reduces the 10 percent rate to zero. The bill also increases the $3,000 limit on capital losses that a person may take against ordinary income to $10,000.