The government will pay $1.7 billion to farmers.

The $1.7 billion will be in cash subsidies to farmers who participated in last year’s acreage program for corn and sorghum, Agriculture Secretary John R. Block said. Most of the 760,000 checks should be in farmers’ hands between April 10 and April 15, he said. Corn producers will get about $1.55 billion and sorghum producers about $150 million. In addition, the USDA announced that sheep producers will get about $90 million in cash subsidies for wool they sold last year.