The amount farmers receive in direct and countercyclical payments is based on the acreage enrolled in the program and the historical yield for the specific commodity.

According to the USDA, the following direct payment rates and countercyclical target prices were set by the 2008 Farm Bill. The direct payment rate is listed first, followed by the target price:

* Wheat: $0.52, $4.17 per bushel

* Corn: $0.28, $2.63 per bushel

* Grain sorghum: $0.35, $2.63 per bushel

* Barley: $0.24, $2.63 per bushel

* Oats: $0.024, $1.79 per bushel

* Upland cotton: $0.0667, $0.71 per pound

* Rice, long grain: $2.35, $10.50 per hundredweight

* Rice, medium and short grain: $2.35, $10.50 per hundredweight

* Soybeans: $0.44, $6 per bushel

* Other oilseeds: $0.80, $12.68 per hundredweight

* Peanuts: $36, $495 per ton

The total direct payment an individual producer receives is determined by multiplying 83.3 percent of the farm's base acreage by the farm's direct payment yield by the direct payment rate.

The formula for the countercyclical payment is more complicated.

A payment rate is calculated by subtracting the direct payment and the actual commodity price from the target price. The payment is calculated by multiplying the payment rate by 85 percent of the base acres and the payment yield.