Farmers thinking of signing up for the countercyclical revenue program in the 2008 farm bill should not give up in despair, says a University of Missouri economist.

While benefit calculations seem complex for ACRE (Average Crop Revenue Election), new software speeds the decision, according to Peter Zimmel at the MU Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.

MU economists built a spreadsheet, called FARM Tool, posted on the FAPRI Web site (www.fapri.missouri.edu). Farmers can download the tool for use in their farm office. Benefits for signing up can be quite large, Zimmel says.

In repeated runs on FAPRI computers, ACRE payments came out ahead for corn, soybeans, wheat and sorghum.

Farmers should decide on ACRE as they would on crop insurance, Zimmel says. "Compare the cost of giving up direct and countercyclical payments in the old farm bill with new benefits received in bad years."

A FAPRI analysis handed to U.S. Congress March 5 showed most Corn Belt states gain more from ACRE compared to the 2002 farm bill. ACRE offers a revenue-based program for farmers hit by low farm returns. Farmers can decide to take part in the new program or stay with the crop-price-based program in the old farm bill.

Signup runs April 1 to June 1 at local U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency offices. "Farmers will be deep in dirt, planting, during signup. They can start calculations now," Zimmel says.

While FSA has not published final rules, farmers can calculate alternatives. Complex calculations are solved by the FAPRI FARM Tool. However, the ACRE program requires crop-yield history for crops grown for the past five years. Farmers must also enter their FSA farm unit ID numbers.

The FARM Tool also works for five other states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio.