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Word out of Washington is that the final Tobacco Buyout Payment is scheduled to be reduced by 7.5%, and it could be delayed.
This issue surfaced after the Office of Management and Budget instructed the USDA to make the final tobacco buyout payment subject to the budget reductions authorized by Congress. Those cuts are also known as sequestration.
The tobacco buyout payments have never involved tax dollars — they are reimbursements paid by the tobacco industry.
Here are 4 ways you can help:
- Contact your friends and neighbors who had tobacco quota and alert them to the possible delay and the ordered reduction of the final payment by 7.5%.
- Call U.S. Senators Burr and Hagan to inquire about the situation.
- Call your U.S. House representative’s office to inquire about the situation.
- Send an email to the Office of Budget and Management, USDA and Congress.
There are about 90,000 former quota holders in North Carolina. Some of them worked with financial institutions to receive the payment up front. You need to find and review that paperwork to see if your financial institution leaves you liable for the 7.5% reduction.
Again, we know some of you weren’t involved in the Tobacco Program, but if you know a relative, a friend, or a neighbor who is receiving Buyout Payments, contact them to make sure they know about this situation.
This issue is important! Action is necessary!
N.C. Farm Bureau
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