§7912 Establishment of Payment Yield

Summary

The Agriculture Secretary must set a payment yield for every farm and each covered commodity to figure direct and counter-cyclical payments. For 2002 through 2007, the yield is the farm’s 1995 program payment yield, adjusted for any extra yield payments made under section 1465(b)(2). If a farm has no 1995 yield (except for soybeans or other oilseeds), the Secretary will pick a suitable yield by looking at similar farms’ yields, using those similar farms’ yields before any optional updates. For soybeans and other oilseeds, the Secretary will average the farm’s yields for 1998–2001 (skipping years with zero planted acres), and then multiply that average by the ratio of the national average yield for 1981–1985 to the national average for 1998–2001. If any 1998–2001 year on the farm was less than 75% of the county yield, that year is counted as 75% of the county yield when making the average. Farm owners who choose the base acres method under section 7911(a)(1)(A) get one one-time chance to partially update the yields used only for counter-cyclical payments. They must make that election when and how the Secretary requires for the base acres choice. The owner must pick one of two methods: use the direct-payment yield plus 70% of the difference between the farm’s 1998–2001 average and the direct-payment yield, or use 93.5% of the farm’s 1998–2001 average. Years with zero planted acres are skipped, and any year under 75% of the county yield is set to 75% of the county yield for the average. The owner must use the same update method for all covered commodities on the farm.