The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Tom Vilsack released key information on the USDA website today regarding the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage crop insurance programs in the 2014 Farm Bill. Among the new information is a group of eTools that can help corn and soybean producers to walk through potential outcomes of the different crop insurance programs offered through the 2014 Farm Bill.

Tools developed to help in PLC/ARC decisions. The National Coalition for Producer Education (NCPE) is led by the University of Illinois' Agricultural Economists that bring you all of the useful tools on the Illinois farmdoc website and the timely analysis of economic issues through their blog farmdoc DAILY.

The NCPE bring us the Agriculture Policy Analysis System which includes tools that can be used to:

• Make quick program payment comparisons for a sample farm in a specific county in Illinois.
• Enter farm-specific information for "detailed program and risk management analysis".
• Look at decision tools associated with dairy markets and programs.
• Put values in to quickly calculate a Payment Yield Update or Base Acre Reallocation.

It all begins by visiting the farmdoc Farm Bill Toolbox which provides explanations about the programs and tools.

Need help navigating the tools? Visit the farmdoc Farm Bill Toolbox to sign up for one of the webinars that will be held on Fridays to help people to walk through the various tools. The first webinar is scheduled for tomorrow: Friday, September 26 at 8 A.M. Visit the Toolbox homepage to sign up for this or other webinar dates/times.