Wevodau focused on two new programs.
One, called Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE), is for farms that lost money because of natural disasters.
Payments are determined through calculations based on a farm's expected revenue and actual revenue. To be covered, a farmer must have crop insurance and must have suffered a certain minimum loss on crop production.
A second program, called Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE), gives farmers another choice instead of a current payment system to make up for falling prices.
The Direct and Counter-cyclical Program, the existing system, kicks in when prices fall below a target price, Wevodau said. ACRE is based on farm revenue.
ACRE stays with the property; once you're in the program, you stay with it, Wevodau said.
It does not replace crop insurance.
Figuring out farm assistance programs and subsidies can be complicated.
"You can't do enough homework on this," Wevodau told the approximately 15 people who attended the session.
Rose talked about updates and changes to conservation programs.
Wevodau also explained a loan program for farmers who replace storage facilities.
After the discussion, Colleen Cashell, executive director of the Farm Service Agency in Washington County, said many local farmers don't know about the intricacies of the new farm bill.
The Farm Service Agency will hold educational programs once it has more tools for applying information to local conditions and prices, she said.
Cashell said the programs described Monday mainly apply to grain crops, while most of Washington County's crops are for forage, although there are several local grain producers.
With periods of drought causing big fluctuations in yield, the ACRE program would have worked well here a few years ago, she said.
