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Farm Payments
In Mid-Summer
Secretary of Agriculture Clifford M. Hardin said final payments to farm program participants in 1970 will be made as soon as possible after July 1, according to a U. S. Department of Agriculture announcement received by H. S. Barksdale, Chairman of the Rappahannock County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation (ASC) Committee. Payments are expected to be completed as much as two months earlier than in previous years.
ASC Committee Chairman Barksdale said the speed-up in payments is in recognition of the extreme financing problem faced by farmers and is very welcome news. He predicted that most of the 1970 crop payments - about $3.3 billion nationally - will be made to farmers in July or August. These payments will amount to about 10 million dollars in Virginia.
“Last year in Rappahannock County, feed grain and wheat payments were not completed until about Septemner. This change will make quite a different,” he said. xiTha. speed-up applies |q all payments to participants in the voluntary farm programs-feed grain and wheat marketing certificates, and payments for voluntary diversion to feed grain and wheat.
The USDA announcement stated that arrangements are being made to accelerate preparatory work in order to issue approximately four million sight drafts to producers as rapidly as possible. It said the early payment operation will be consistent with good program administration and will be subject to appropriate Congressional funding action.
Mr. Barksdale pointed out that the early payment operation will also depend on producers certifying compliance with program provisions somewhat earlier than in the past. “I’m sure we will have good cooperation from Rappahannock County producers in this,” he said.
Farmers who are in the programs must certify the exact acreage they have planted to the program crops and the exact acreage diverted. Certification means that a farmer has complied with the program provisions - not that he Intends to comply. When he certifies, that means his acreage on that day is exactly what he certifies it is.
For some farmers, early certificatioh may mean they will have to move some of their work up a little ahead of what they planned.
The big news at the moment is that final farm program payments for 1970 are expected to reach farmers during July and August.
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