Pro Farmer Editors

No surprise, but producers of 2008-crop corn, sorghum and soybeans will not be receiving a final Counter-cyclical Program (CCP) payment but cotton producers will. For cotton producers who received a partial payment will receive 7.55 cents per pound, the final rate of 12.58 cents less the partial payment rate of 5.03 cents per pound.

Here's how things shape up for CCPs at this stage on corn, sorghum, soybeans and cotton:

Note: The effective price equals the direct payment rate, plus the higher of the national average loan rate or the national average farm price received by producers.

USDA's National Ag Statistics Service announced the final market year average price for upland cotton on Oct. 9, 2009 of 47.8 cents per pound, and will announce long-grain and medium and short-grain rice prices on Jan. 29, 2010. However, USDA noted that "no final counter-cyclical payments for rice are expected because the preliminary market year average prices for rice announced by NASS on Aug. 31, 2009, far exceeded their respective effective prices."

The 2008 Farm Bill requires 2008 final counter-cyclical payments to be paid as soon as practical following the end of the marketing year, but not sooner than Oct. 1, 2009. Because the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) published the final marketing year average prices for peanuts on Aug. 31, 2009, and for corn, grain sorghum and soybeans on Sept. 29, 2009, USDA can now determine that no final payments will be made for these commodities. The 2008 Farm Bill provides that one partial counter-cyclical payment may be issued after 180 days of the marketing year. However, USDA did not issue a partial payment for the 2008 crop of peanuts, corn, grain sorghum or soybeans because these markets were strong.