USDA's Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE) is an
alternative to price-based commodity programs. Begun in 2009, the
program uses a combination of State- and farm-level revenue
guarantees that are determined from recent historic prices and
yields. The ACRE program makes payments to producers when both
State average revenue and farm revenue for a crop fall below recent
historic levels. The map shows expected ACRE payments, based on
simulated crop revenue variability, per acre for representative
farms (one per crop per county) relative to national average ACRE
payments. For corn, ACRE payments would be high in Midwest areas
with high average yields, even though these areas have low yield
and revenue variability and strong negative price-yield
correlations. ACRE payments also tend to be high along the
Southeast and Middle Atlantic coast where average yields are low
and yield and revenue variability are high. This map originally
appeared in the December 2010 issue of Amber Waves.