{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=de65d47b-6bfe-45e5-930f-bb389d874297", "COCHRAN PROMOTES COTTON TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ENROLLMENT TO MISS. FARMERS", "2014-09-05", "2014", "2014-09", "Republican", "House", "MS", "Thad Cochran", "C000567", "www.cochran.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), ranking member on the Senate Agriculture Committee, today encouraged producers with cotton base acres in Mississippi and throughout the Sunbelt to consider enrolling in an interim safety net program created for them in the 2014 farm bill.\r\nAn October 7 deadline has been set for upland cotton producers to enroll in the Cotton Transition Assistance Program (CTAP), a program to ensure they are protected as the U.S. Department of Agriculture fully implements the new Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX).\u00a0 CTAP enrollment began Aug. 11.\r\n\u201cCotton is major crop in Mississippi and many other states, and it is appropriate that farmers have access to tools to manage the risks that come from producing this crop.\u00a0 In the near term, the Cotton Transition Assistance Program can help insulate growers from poor market conditions,\u201d Cochran said.\u00a0 \u201cIt will help producers by providing financial assistance as the Department of Agriculture fully implements the STAX program that will replace the old direct payment system.\u201d\r\nCochran was the chief Senate advocate for inclusion of CTAP during negotiations to finalize the Agricultural Act of 2014, insisting that some level of assistance should be provided for those counties where STAX would not be available for the 2014 and 2015 crop years.\u00a0\r\n\u201cThe USDA has prioritized implementation of CTAP as the STAX risk management insurance plan is put in place for the 2015 cotton crop.\u00a0 As such, I think it would be worthwhile for our cotton producers to consider enrolling in CTAP over the next month,\u201d Cochran said.\r\nFor producers who enroll in CTAP, the program is designed to provide interim payments based on 2013 cotton base acres.\u00a0 Until the STAX insurance program is finalized, the existing crop insurance products and the marketing assistance loan program are the only other risk management tools available for the 2014 cotton crop.\u00a0 Producers should visit their local Farm Service Agency office to enroll.\u00a0 For more information on CTAP, visit these websites:\u00a0 www.usda.gov/farmbill or www.fsa.usda.gov.\r\nMississippi farms produced 730,000 bales of cotton in 2013, with a production value of $331 million.\u00a0 Last year, average yields were a record-setting 1,188 pounds per acre.\r\nSigned into law in February, the Agricultural Act of 2014 enacted major reforms to agriculture, conservation and nutrition policies, saving taxpayers nearly $17 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.\u00a0 The farm bill baseline was also trimmed by $6 billion from sequestration, resulting in an overall savings of $23 billion.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=de65d47b-6bfe-45e5-930f-bb389d874297"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5025029424577951, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}