The program, worth up to $250 million, was authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which was passed in December 2022.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will be offering financial assistance to eligible rice farmers in the form of a one-time payment based on planted and prevented planted acres in 2022.
Eligible Arkansas rice farmers will start receiving applications from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency this week, with the completed forms and additional documents to be returned by July 10. Initial payments will be issued at a reduced rate of 1 cent per pound, and a second round of payments may be offered if there are any remaining funds. If applicable, a prevented planted factor of 60% will be applied.
The USDA will make payments to rice farmers based on data already on file with the department, including planted acres and acres that were prevented from being planted due to weather conditions such as drought, flood, or hurricane. The prevented planting factor was included in the rice assistance program as it is a result of factors outside of the farmer’s control.
Rice producers have been hit by lower prices for rice and higher input costs such as fertilizer
Some rice farmers reported that their costs for inputs like fertilizer had gone up as much as 300%. Congress provided this assistance to rice farmers after referencing a Texas A&M University study that determined that two-thirds of U.S. rice farms were going to be cash-negative in 2022.
Arkansas is the leading rice-producing state in the U.S. and produces nearly 50% of all rice in the country. The state’s rice farmers and millers contribute more than $6 billion annually to the economy and employ over 25,000 residents. Arkansas rice farmers are expected to receive the lion’s share of the assistance program due to their high production rates.
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