farm

University of Illinois farm experts say the state's farmers could get a boost from the 2002 Farm Bill.

Farm management specialist Dale Lattz says the estimated per-acre hike in federal assistance is more than $12 for nothern Illinois, and nearly $16 in the south.

Lattz says the university's study assumes crop prices similar to last year. He says the supports are meant to be counter-cyclical, based on long-term averages of price in soybeans and corn.

If prices increase, the estimated payments could decline.