Farmers who want to take advantage of the Production
Flexibility Contract better hurry.

Time is running out.

This one-time offer ends July 12.

"It’s a good deal for farmers," said Bill Givan, a
University of Georgia
Extension Service economist.

"Congress wants to phase out farm support
programs," Givan said. "In
Georgia, this program is mainly for cotton, wheat and corn
growers. It gives them
transition payments before farm programs are phased out
completely."

The seven-year contracts, authorized by the 1996 Farm Bill,
begin in 1996 and end in
2002.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman stresses this is
the only chance farmers get
to enroll.

"There will be no additional sign-ups except for land
coming out of the
Conservation Reserve Program," Glickman said. "This is
required by the 1996 Act,
and I have no discretion to extend the date."

Farmers who have planted wheat, corn, grain sorghum, barley,
oats, upland cotton or
rice in one of the past five years are eligible.

Farmers still have to comply with the conservation and
wetland rules. The 1995 limits
will apply to these payments. No one can get more than $40,000
in a year.

The program will allow farmers to plant as they wish —
almost. Except in certain
cases, they can’t plant fruits or vegetables on contract
acres.

A grower may enroll all or part of the farm’s contract base
acreage. After he signs up,
he may request a permanent acreage reduction without a penalty.
Farmers can learn about
payment and loan rates at their Farm Service Agency office.

While the program offers more flexibility, ending subsidies
means farmers must be even
more efficient.

"Technology is the driving force in what will be
produced, how and when,"
Givan said. "It will dictate the organization and process
from production inputs to
the consumer. All this will occur with less government support,
but with more regulation
in food safety and environmental concerns."

Ag Showcase ’96 will display many new technologies at at the
Rural Development Center
in Tifton June 29.

The UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
cosponsors the one-day event
with Fort Valley State College and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural
College. Hands-on exhibits
will focus on the latest in modern farming.

New technology alone won’t make Georgia farmers competitive
as subsidies end. They’ll
need new markets, too.

"Growth in foreign markets will be the key determinant
of agriculture’s growth in
the 21st century," Givan said.

The new farm bill will do much to shape farming’s future.

"Farmers will be paid for products, not
commodities," Givan said. Value will
be added after products leave the farm.

Farmers will contract a growing share of what they produce,
he said. And prices for
what they don’t contract will go up and down much faster.

Foreign markets will affect pricing in U.S. markets more.
"And managing risk, with
less price support and more environmental regulation,"
Givan said, "will become
more a major factor in farm survival."

Under the new system, he said, farmers must cut costs, expand
their share of
value-added components and produce what foreign and U.S. markets
demand. They must use new
biotechnology and information systems, too.

The reform will greatly affect Georgia farm production and
marketing. But "only
time will tell," Givan said, "if agriculture improves
during the next seven
years."

The farm bill will affect Georgia farm cooperatives and
agribusinesses, too.

"Their futures hinge," Givan said, "on how
well they adapt and respond
to the needs of Georgia farmers."