News

Administration again seeks ag payment cuts

President Obama’s fiscal-year 2010 budgetproposal is out. And according to DTN, it takes another swing at commodity-program payments by proposing a 250-thousand dollar cap on payments.

The proposal also seeks to phase out direct payments over three years to farmers with 500-thousand dollars in sales revenueannually. DTN’s Chris Clayton says that’s the same proposal offered by the administration earlier this year—a plan that was roundly criticized by nearly all farm groups and by Congressional leaders. The criticism stems from the administration’s desire to use “gross sales” in calculatingthe income caps, rather than “adjusted gross income”, as is currently used.

The president’s plan also calls for reducing premium subsidies and underwriting gains for crop insurance. The Administration also proposes to eliminate funding for the ResourceConservation and Development program, known as RC&D.