Before farmers enroll in another year of the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP), they may want to consider again whether they should designate one or more of their farms as ACRE, or Acreage Crop Revenue Election, farms. Here are only a few basic points to keep in mind.

-ACRE is selected farm by farm.
-When a farm is enrolled in ACRE, it remains in ACRE until the next Farm Bill.
-A farm must have crop bases to enroll in ACRE.
-Direct payments are still earned under ACRE but reduced by 20%.
-ACRE is a risk protection type of program. (the only cost is the 20% reduction on Direct payments)
-Producers on ACRE farms will annually report production as well as acreage.

To help farmers make an informed decision regarding ACRE, two educational meetings are being planned. The Marathon County Farm Service Agency, in conjunction with the UW Extension, will hold an ACRE meeting on December 15, 2009, 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm, in the basement at Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church in Halder. Another ACRE meeting will be held on December 17, 2009, 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm, in Room #2 at the UW Extension/4-H building next to the Farm Service Agency office in Wausau. Although farmers have until June 1, 2010 to make the ACRE decision for 2010, it will be best if they can seriously look at the options before DCP signup begins at the Farm Service Agency in January 2010.