Agricultural Economics, Department of
Center for Agricultural Profitability
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Farm Program Payments and Decisions: Further Analysis
Date of this Version
10-9-2026
Document Type
Article
Citation
Lubben, B. “Farm Program Payments and Decisions: Further Analysis.” CAP Series 26-1001, Center for Agricultural Profitability, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Oct. 9, 2026. DOI: 10.32873/unl.dc.cap090.
Abstract
In September, the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) opened enrollment for the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program for the 2026 crop year. Producers must make an ARC or PLC election and enroll in the program by December 11, 2026. Producers will also be able to enroll in the 2027 ARC and PLC program from early November through March 15, 2026.
The enrollment period for 2026 was delayed from the normal spring deadline in part due to the work needed at FSA to implement new program rules and support levels and add additional base acres as a result of language included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025. The delay may provide producers with a better assessment of both price prospects and yield results for the 2026 crop year as they choose between the price-based PLC support or the revenue-based ARC support. The decision for 2027 will return to the typical timeline of making decisions before spring planting is generally underway.
In either case, producers will need make an election between ARC and PLC based on their expectations of potential support and further analysis can help improve the decision. At the same time, producers should be receiving payments from FSA for the 2025 crop year. Since the budget reconciliation act increased program supports immediately beginning with 2025 crop year but was passed after the enrollment period had ended, the act included language to pay producers the higher of ARC or PLC payments for the 2025 year. An analysis of those payments can help illustrate the potential support from the programs even if the actual payments ultimately did not depend on the producer decisions.