CHANGES IN GOVERNMENT POLICIES

摘要

New farm legislation in the USA, originally passed by Congress in December 1995 but vetoed by the President, has been redrafted by the US Congress and will be signed by the President in early April 1996. The new legislation differs from current policies in that it will "decouple" income support payments from production decisions. Farmers in the USA who own or operate farms that were registered in the crop programs in the past will be eligible to receive fixed payments from the government each year for seven years, regardless of market prices or the number of acres planted to each crop. For farms on which cotton was grown in the past, payments are expected to begin at 9.34 cents per pound in 1996 and decline to 5.50 cents by 2002. Farmers will no longer be required to reduce planted area by a specified percentage (the acreage reduction program) in order to qualify for benefits; there will no longer be a target price used to determine whether income support payments will be made in a given year.