Counter-cyclical payment (CCP) — Under the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program

Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program

The Direct and Counter-cyclical Payment Program of the USDA provides payments to eligible producers on farms enrolled for the 2002 through 2007 crop years. There are two types of DCP payments – direct payments and counter-cyclical payments...

 (DCP) created by the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 101-171, Sec. 1101-1108), counter-cyclical payments are made to participating producers when the marketing year

Marketing year

Marketing year refers to the 12-month period, generally from the beginning of a new harvest, over which a crop is marketed. For example, for wool, mohair, and Hawaiian sugarcane, the marketing year is January 1-December 31; for honey, it is April 1-March 31; for wheat, barley, and oats, it is June...

 average price received by farmers for a covered commodity is less than the target price. The total payment to a producer is the payment acres (85% of base acres) times the payment rate (target price

Target price

Target price may mean different things:#The price at which a stockholder is willing to sell his/her stock.#The price at which a seller projects that a buyer will buy a product.----Target price ...

 minus average market price

Market price

In economics, market price is the economic price for which a good or service is offered in the marketplace. It is of interest mainly in the study of microeconomics...

, except not more than the difference between the target price and the sum of the national loan rate and the direct payment rate).