USDA announces ARC, PLC payments

WASHINGTON — The Farm Service Agency’s Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage will generate approximately $13.8 billion in gross payments to eligible agricultural producers for the 2025 crop year.

This marks the largest annual payout by far since these key safety net programs were established in the 2014 farm bill.

The 2025 crop year stands alone in the history of ARC and PLC since Congress created the programs as key components of the commodity safety net in the Agricultural Act of 2014. Since 2015, no previous crop year has generated payments approaching this level.

While ARC and PLC payments total $13.8 billion, producers are reminded that this does not account for payment limitation reductions and the 5.7% sequestration rate required by statute that will be applied to all ARC and PLC payments.

Tax Cut Act

The Working Families Tax Cuts Act strengthens ARC and PLC beginning with the 2025 crop year, including higher statutory reference prices and improvements to the effective reference price calculation.

Additionally, for the 2025 crop year only, producers will automatically receive the higher payment rate of either ARC or PLC, regardless of their program election.

The WFTCA also increases the ARC and PLC payment limit from $125,000 to $155,000, starting with the 2025 crop year with annual adjustments based on inflation. The payment limit for the 2025 crop year is $160,000.

The following 16 crops triggered a PLC payment for the 2025 crop year: small and large chickpeas; canola; corn; dry peas; flaxseed; grain sorghum; lentils; peanuts; long-grain, medium-grain and japonica rice; safflower; seed cotton; soybeans; and wheat.

ARC-County payments are based on county-level revenue and therefore trigger at the county level. FSA will issue payments to eligible producers as calculations are completed.

Enrollment

As a reminder, the ARC and PLC election and enrollment period for the 2026 crop year is now open.

The WFTCA added an additional 30 million new base acres to farms nationwide. Because eligible acres exceeded the nationwide 30-million-acre cap, FSA applied an across-the-board, prorated reduction of 3.69% to all newly allocated base acres.

These additional base acres impact ARC and PLC starting with the 2026 and future crop years, further improving the farm safety net.

Producers should make an appointment with their FSA county office to complete their 2026 ARC and PLC election and enrollment.

Safety Net

ARC and PLC protect producers from substantial declines in crop prices or revenues. Producers annually elect and enroll for ARC or PLC coverage for eligible commodities.

PLC provides income support when the effective price for a covered commodity falls below its effective reference price.

ARC provides income support when actual crop revenue falls below a guaranteed level. Depending on the coverage elected, ARC protection is based on either county-level revenue or the revenue of an individual farm.

Producers with questions about their ARC-CO or PLC enrollment or payments should contact their local FSA county office.

Producers who selected ARC‑Individual and want to know which crops on the farm triggered a payment, should contact their local FSA county office. ARC‑IC protects the entire farm’s revenue rather than individual crops.