University of Missouri System

The Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center (RAFF) Is a Congressionally Mandated Policy Research Center Under Cooperative Agreement With the Office of the Chief Economist and Provides Congress With Data for Policy Development: and Forward-looking Estimates of Local/state-level Farm Financial Indicators. These Data Are Used by Congress to Understand How Their Decisions and Other External Events Affect the Ability of Farmers and Ranchers to Make a Profit; They Are Also Used by Agricultural Lenders, Input Suppliers and Other Stakeholders to Set Business Priorities. This Project Works Closely With States to Build and Expand Models of State-level Farm Income for Key Agricultural States and Will Add California and Florida to Bring the Total to 12 States. This Agreement Also Develops Economic Models to Support Analysis of Government Payments – for Example, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program – That Estimates the Effects of Proposed Changes to These Programs on Producer Income and Program Participation, Thus Providing Policymakers More Information to Make These Program More Efficient While Meeting the Needs of Producers. Deliverables Include the Data on Farm Financial Indicators, Forecasts of Farmland Agreement Values and Cash Rents, and Also the Raff Stress Dashboard. the Dashboard Transforms the Early Warning System of Farm Financial Stress (a Compilation of About a Dozen Financial Indicators and Interpretation by an Advisory Panel of Agricultural Economists Developed in a Previous Cooperative) Into a Public Resource. the Dashboard Will Be an Information Source for States and Other Decisionmakers Developing Policies to Provide Relief for Distressed Farmers and Ranchers.