Acreage Reduction Program: Difference between revisions

In the United States, the '''Acreage Reduction Program''' (ARP) is a no-longer-authorized annual [[cropland retirement]] program for [[wheat]], [[feed grains]], [[cotton]], or [[rice]] in which farmers participating in the [[commodity program]]s (in order to be eligible for [[nonrecourse loan]]s and [[deficiency payment]]s) were mandated to idle a crop-specific, nationally set portion of their [[base acreage]] during years of surplus.  The idled acreage (called the acreage conservation reserve) was devoted to a conserving use.  The goal was to reduce supplies, thereby raising market prices. Additionally, idled acres did not earn deficiency payments, thus reducing commodity program costs.  ARP was criticized for diminishing the U.S. competitive position in export markets.  The [[1996 farm bill]] (P.L. 104–127) did not reauthorize ARPs.  ARP differed from a [[set-aside]] program in that under a set-aside program reductions were based upon current year plantings, and did not require farmers to reduce their plantings of a specific crop.