I am a farmer . I can tell you that I reject any governmental aid. I do not register at the extension service for welfare and never have. I do pay big bucks for crop insurance but only collected twice in 30 years. Farmers are welfare babies in most places and should just quit. Here we have good moisture and soil and it pays. It is amazing that my brother is a Lawyer in Texas and he can’t buy “crop insurance” Ill bet you can’t buy “job insurance”
So I got control of my share and have been going it alone since 2010. I did get two years of direct and counter cyclical payments in 2011 and 2012, just under $2K. I don't feel particularly guilty about it.
The big farmers got it for years (you're probably big and didn't). Finally they set a limit that people with $500K income couldn't get it any more. I am far, far from that when all is said and done.
I get the crop ins, too, am thankful for it. We have the option to go private but it's cheaper to use the farm bill plan. It's done through a private ins co, have a bill sitting here for $6xx, my half of a share crop agreement. Later I will pay probably $12xx for the remainder for the year.
I got a couple crop hail dividends which I don't know if they are the same as claims or not (I think maybe not) in small amts in 2013 and 2014. I have one claim, rec'd $1200 for 2014 early this year, my half of wind damage which laid the corn down necessitating special harvesting, should have asked the specifics of how that is done.
What I am worried about now are prices. I did well the years before 2014 getting good prices for my share of corn and beans. This year I'm so upset about the drop in prices that I decided the heck with it, I will pay the storage all year and have so little income to report next year or go NOL that I won't have any taxes. Then if prices get better or if I get really strapped for cash, I will sell just enough that I need and consider my corn and beans assets.
I don't have on site storage; you probably do. My strategy isn't going to work very well because all the farmers who can are holding like I am causing a glut. If I knew how to do call and put options, I could hedge that way but it's too risky.
I've been retired for many years; job ins isn't an issue for me. Oh, I have good land but we're trying to improve it. I have nice topsoil (not as nice as the black I remember as a child) with deeper clay which helps to trap moisture but it's not as good as irrigation which we can't do because there's not enough water.
I guess you think I should just quit. I haven't gotten any payments for 2 years. If they start them up again, I may. It really doesn't make that much difference anyway. It is tempting to just quit as you say but land is as good asset as one can have in this crazy economy. It worries me that sharks on one side or another will try to get it away from me or my heirs.
I know land prices have soared with Iowa at the top (my farm is in IL) but they have slid some the last couple years pegged to input costs and market prices. Still, some still get extravagant amounts for their land depending on the land, location, who wants it and how the sale is handled.
I hope you won't be hostile toward me just because I took a few K in "farm welfare". I don't know if my father would have done it or not. He hated welfare. I have had some in my life, beside the farm the county paid for my years of therapy for anxiety and depression because I was very low income in those years.