THE CROWDING OUT EFFECTS OF THE 2002 FARM BILL ON HEDGING: EVIDENCE FROM PACIFIC NORTHWEST GRAIN FARMS

The 2002 Food Security and Rural Investment (FSRI) Act introduced a price protection program called Counter Cyclical Payments (CCP) to major grain producers in the US. The CCP program is an addition to the Loan Deficiency Payment (LDP) and Direct Payment (DP) programs from the previous 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act. At the same time, US federally subsidized crop revenue insurance programs also protect farmers from market and production risks. These government policy programs may crowd out the traditional price risk management role of hedging in commodity futures markets.