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Farm management specialist: MFP payments will relieve cash flow concerns

A farm business expert says the USDA Market Facilitation Program payment is an unplanned injection of cash.  Iowa State University farm management specialist Steve Johnson says growers should get soybean production data to the Farm Service Agency (FSA) as soon as harvest wraps up.

“I think farmers are going to be surprised that those first payments that they’re going to get on soybeans are going to at least reduce the amount of cash flow concerns they have this fall,” Johnson told Brownfield Ag News Friday.

There are also advantages to combining information provided to the FSA and the Risk Management Agency.

“If I provide the same information to my crop insurance agent that I provide the local FSA office I’m covered,” said Johnson.  “My production evidence is crop insurance information.”

He says both MFP, and usually crop insurance indemnity payments, are taxable in the year they’re received.

Johnson says FSA offices will be especially busy administering the MFP payments, “so be respectful.”

AUDIO: Steve Johnson (6 min. MP3)