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Show Payments In Kind Slated For Some Utah Farmers PIK, another farm program acronym, has come into the agricultural picture. This program prog-ram that pays in kind for reducing reduc-ing acres planted to certain surplus crops may be ideal for some Utah growers of wheat or corn. For others, it may not fit, but at least it gives growers a new alternative that they haven't ha-ven't had before, says Dr. E. Bruce Godfrey, economist, Utah State University. PIK, he pointed out, is a mechanism to reduce the total supply of crops that are burdened bur-dened with price-depressing surpluses. Hopefully it will bring supply more in line with demand. Also it is intended to reduce storage and other costs of the government price support sup-port program. The Secretary of Agriculture, Agricul-ture, John R. Block, explained, ex-plained, "Farmers who take out of production additional acres over what they agree to take out under the current program will receive as a payment pay-ment a certain amount of the commodity they would have grown on these acres. The commodity is theirs to do with as they wish. Commodities for the PIK program will come from farmer-owned reserve, regular loan or CCC-owned stocks." "BASICALLY this says that if you don't produce on a given number of acres, you will be given near the equivalent amount of grain that you would have produced. You can do with it what you want to," Godfrey tells Utah growers. Farmers who have questions ques-tions about what will be received re-ceived and how to sign up for PIK can go to their county ASCS (Agricultural Stabilization Stabiliza-tion and Conservation Service) Ser-vice) office. WHETHER it will pay a particular par-ticular farmer to sign up is another matter, the economist reminded. Each farm operation opera-tion must be evaluated to see how it fits the program incentives. incen-tives. This should be done before be-fore the deadline of March 11. kj |