PEANUT MARKETING NEWS – October 7, 2019 – Tyron Spearman, Editor (130)

PRODUCER MEETINGS ANNOUNCED -- The University of Georgia Extension and Georgia FSA are hosting producer
education meetings throughout the state of Georgia, Oct. 8-11, 2019. Meetings will be held in Bainbridge, Tifton, Douglas,
Reynolds, Waynesboro, Bogart and Cartersville. Topics include 2018 Farm Bill, WHIP, MFP, ARC and PLC programs.
Tas Smith, State Executive Director, USDA Farm Service Agency said, “Agricultural producers are facing tough
times. Under the direction of President Donald Trump and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, USDA is committed to
ensuring producers suffer minimal financial impact from the wrath of Mother Nature and trade tariffs implemented by China
and others.”
TRADE IMPACT ASSISTANCE - On July 29, signup began for the 2019 Market Facilitation Program (MFP) and will
continue through December 6, 2019. MFP provides up to $14.5 billion in direct payments to agricultural producers who have
been affected by unjustified retaliatory foreign tariffs on U.S. farm goods; causing a loss of traditional export markets.
Non-Specialty Crops - Assistance for covered non-specialty crops is based on a single county payment rate multiplied by a
farm’s total plantings, in aggregate in 2019. A producer’s total payment-eligible plantings cannot exceed total 2018
plantings. Calculations will consider new farmers, fallow ground, and farms exiting the Conservation Reserve Program.
County payment rates range from $15 to $150 per acre, depending on the impact of unjustified trade retaliation on that
county. Producers will receive a payment based on 2019 planted acreage multiplied by county payment rate.
Livestock: see announcement
Specialty Crops- For specialty crops, producers will receive a payment based on 2019 acres of fruit or nut bearing
plants. Rates include: Dairy (milk): $0.20 per hundredweight, Hogs: $11 per head, Nuts: $146 per acre, and table
grapes: $0.03 per pound at 20,820 pounds per acre.
Payment Limitation and Eligibility: Payments for each category of covered commodity (non-specialty, livestock and
specialty) are limited to $250,000 per person or legal entity, but no applicant can receive more than $500,000
MFP payments will be made in up to three installments, with the second and third installments evaluated as market
conditions and trade impact dictates. If conditions warrant, the second and third installments will be made in November 2019
and early January 2020. The first payment will be issued based on the higher of the larger of 50 percent of a calculated
county payment rate or $15 per acre.
DISASTER ASSISTANCE - The 2018 growing season was one of extreme difficulty for Georgia producers. Last October
one of the most productive crop years on record was battered and destroyed by Hurricane Michael. According to the
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service, Hurricane Michael caused more than $2.5 billion in losses to
Georgia’s agricultural sector. Responding to this devastation, Congress passed, and President Trump signed, the Additional
Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019. The law provides assistance for production losses from
Hurricane Michael through the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+).
WHIP+ - See announcement for details.
Signup for WHIP+ began on September 11 and will continue into 2020. WHIP+ builds off the 2017 Wildfires and
Hurricanes Indemnity Program (WHIP) and is available to producers who have suffered eligible losses of certain crops, trees,
bushes, or vines.
Both insured and uninsured producers are eligible to apply for WHIP+. Producers receiving assistance through WHIP+
will be required to purchase crop insurance or NAP coverage, at the minimum 60 percent level for the next two consecutive
crop years. USDA is also working with Georgia Department of Agriculture Commissioner to further assist growers through
state block grants for producer losses not covered by WHIP+ or other USDA disaster programs.
PRODUCER MEETINGS - TIME AND LOCATION
OCTOBER 8 - 10 -11:30 AM - Decatur County Extension Office, 1300 East River Road, Bainbridge, GA 39817
OCTOBER 8 – 3-4:30 PM – UGA Tifton Conference Center, Room 19, 15 RDC Road, Tifton, GA 31794
OCTOBER 9 - 9-10:30 AM - Weir Center, 307 E. Bryan Street, Douglas, GA 31533
OCTOBER 9 – 3-4:30 PM - Flint Energies – 3 South Macon Street, Reynolds, GA 31076
OCTOBER 10 – 11 AM – 1 PM – Burke County Extension Office, 715 West 6th Street, Waynesboro, GA 30830
OCTOBER 11- 8 AM-9:30 AM – Athens-Clarke County Extension Office, 275 Cleveland Rd, Bogart, GA 30622
OCTOBER 11 -1–2:30 PM – Bartow County Extension Office, Olin Tatum Ag Building, 320 W. Cherokee, Cartersville, GA