Monday begins the three-month period for tobacco quota holders and growers to sign up for buyout payments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
To help North Carolinians through the process, including decisions such as whether to assign a decade of payments to a third party in exchange for a lump sum now, the state Cooperative Extension Service will present a one-hour call-in show over the public-access OPEN/net at 9 p.m. Tuesday.
The show will feature leading tobacco farm economist Blake Brown and a colleague of his from the North Carolina State University department of agriculture resource economics, Arnold Oltmans. A representative of the Farm Service Agency, which is administering the buyout, also may appear.
The topics to be discussed include the basics of the buyout and the latest rules for implementation, the tax implications of the buyout payments and what to ask an accountant, and what to consider in deciding whether to take a lump sum.
You can watch the show on Channel 24 on Time Warner Cable. You can participate by phoning in questions or comments to 888-228-6736 or e-mailing open@ncmail.net.
The buyout was naturally a big topic of conversation at Tuesday morning’s Congressional Farmers Breakfast at the State Fairgrounds.
Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-Lillington, who represents the southern half of Vance County, said he and others in Congress are pushing for the Department of Agriculture to guarantee the buyout payments in writing to reassure banks considering loans to those due buyout payments.
The buyout will pay quota holders $7 per pound of quota and growers $3 per pound, spread over 10 years. The first payments should come this summer, with subsequent payments each January.
Rep. Brad Miller, D-Raleigh, whose district covers most of Granville County, advised buyout recipients to be leery of offers to exchange a decade of reliable payments for a lower lump sum now. Miller compared the institutions making such offers to payday lenders.
Etheridge said that if farmers use the buyout to cover deficits in their farm operations, “you’re stupider than I thought” because once the buyout cash runs out, those farmers will have no money and will be stuck with money-losing farms.
Etheridge, proud of his status as Congress’ only flue-cured tobacco grower, said he’ll probably invest his buyout money into improved farm operations, including trees he’s planting. (For more from the breakfast, check back with HomeinHenderson.com this weekend.)