By Jason Vance
Contributor

U.S. farmers are receiving a record $13.8 billion in payments through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs for the 2025 crop year, reflecting expanded program benefits and changes included in last year’s Working Families Tax Cuts Act.

The payments, issued in October, represent a substantial increase from the approximately $1.9 billion distributed in October 2025 for the previous crop year.

USDA Farm Service Agency Deputy Administrator Jared Haggard said several factors contributed to the historic payment total, including increased reference prices, additional base acres and higher payment limitations.

Among the changes included in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act was an increase in reference prices for all Title I commodities covered by ARC and PLC. The legislation also expanded the number of base acres eligible for payments by approximately 30 million.

The legislation further increased payment limitations and established provisions allowing producers to receive the higher payment calculated under either ARC or PLC, regardless of which program they originally elected for the 2025 crop year.

Payment limitations increased from $125,000 to $155,000 beginning with the 2025 crop year, with future adjustments tied to inflation. For the current round of ARC and PLC payments, the payment limitation is $160,000, according to USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Richard Fordyce.

ARC and PLC have served as important components of the federal farm safety net for more than a decade, providing financial protection when crop prices or revenues fall below established levels.

Fordyce explained that the two programs offer different types of protection.

PLC primarily protects producers against declining commodity prices when the marketing-year average price falls below a predetermined reference price.

ARC considers both price and production, using county-level yields and commodity prices to determine whether revenue has fallen below established benchmarks.

Producers can elect which program to use annually for individual crops. Under ARC, farmers can choose county-level coverage or individual coverage that considers the entire farm.

Fordyce said producers growing multiple commodities frequently divide their acreage between the programs, selecting the option that offers the most appropriate protection for each crop.

“Producers that are growing multiple crops will enroll some crops in one program, some crops in another program based on what the analysis is,” Fordyce said.

With enrollment decisions approaching for the 2026 crop year, USDA is reminding farmers that the deadline to make ARC or PLC elections and complete enrollment is Dec. 11.

Producers must work through their local Farm Service Agency offices to complete the process.

Although FSA personnel cannot recommend which program individual producers should select, Fordyce encouraged farmers to use available decision-making resources through land-grant universities.

Many universities offer online comparison tools and calculators that allow producers to enter their own farm information, evaluate potential payments and determine which program may provide the best protection for individual crops.

Because commodity prices, production costs and yield expectations vary across the country, those calculations can help farmers make more informed decisions about their farm safety net coverage.

Additional information about ARC and PLC, including program details and enrollment requirements, is available through USDA’s Farm Service Agency at fsa.usda.gov.