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When farmers signed up for PIK last spring, they received vouchers redeemable at harvest time for grain from Government-controlled storage. The amount varied from 80% (in the case of corn) to 95% (in the case of wheat) of what they would normally produce on their idled plots. After redeeming the vouchers, the farmers are free to sell the gratis grain or use it as livestock feed. "PIK sure looked sweet to me," says Kyle Bauer, who idled 700 acres of his 1,700-acre farm in northeastern Kansas. "I can give my ground a rest and still...
Many farmers, however, are piqued with PIK. They cite poor administration, the possibility of getting paid with inferior grain and a timetable that sometimes forces farmers to sell at deflated prices. "The biggest concern I have is the quality of corn they are shipping in," says Alabama Farmer Bill Sanders. "Some of it is as much as two or three years old. I may have to buy hogs...
Texas rice farmers will receive medium-grain California rice for their PIK entitlements because there is not enough of the more marketable long-grain variety to go around. Worse, the shipments will arrive at the beginning of August when the market is flooded with rice. Cash-hungry farmers will have to sell at the lowest price of the season. "These old boys need greenbacks right away," says Rice Farmer Wayne Wilber. "They won't get nearly as much as they would if they got their entitlements later in the season...
...short term, the Administration is pushing Congress to freeze "target prices" (the prices that determine the amount of a farmer's cash subsidy) for grain and to lower dairy price supports. Until Congress agrees, Block is delaying the announcement of the specifics of the 1984 PIK program for wheat. In the meantime, PIK appears to be the only game in town. "This miserable PIK program is designed to keep the poor buggers in farming alive," says Scott Hanson, administrator of the Washington Wheat Commission in Spokane. "Until someone comes up with a better idea, we're stuck with...
...that were not enough, huge parts of southern Brazil, hit by weeks of torrential rains, were under water. The floods have destroyed at least 1 million tons of stored grain, drowned herds of cattle, brought business to a standstill, left 340,000 people homeless and killed more than 100 in an area that generates roughly 18% of Brazil's gross national product. Said one pilot after a rescue mission: "The region is one immense lake with little islands where there used to be cities." With damages so far estimated at $1.5 billion, the military government of President...