Enrollment for the 2021 crop year closes March 15, 2021.
ARC provides income support payments on historical base acres
when actual crop revenue declines below a specified guaranteed
level. PLC provides income support payments on historical base
acres when the effective price for a covered commodity falls
below its reference price.
Covered commodities include barley, canola, large and small
chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils,
mustard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, long grain
rice, medium and short grain rice, safflower seed, seed cotton,
sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat.
2021 Elections and Enrollment
Producers can elect coverage and enroll in crop-by-crop
ARC-County or PLC, or ARC-Individual for the entire farm, for
the 2021 crop year. Although election changes for 2021 are
optional, enrollment (signed contract) is required for each year
of the program. If a producer has a multi-year contract on the
farm and makes an election change for 2021, it will be necessary
to sign a new contract.
If an election is not submitted by the deadline of March 15,
2021, the election defaults to the current election for crops on
the farm from the prior crop year.
For crop years 2022 and 2023, producers will have an opportunity
to make new elections during those signups. Farm owners cannot
enroll in either program unless they have a share interest in
the farm.
2019 Crop Year ARC and PLC Payments
FSA began processing payments last week for 2019 ARC-County
(ARC-CO) and PLC on covered commodities that met payment
triggers on farms enrolled for the 2019 crop year. In addition
to the $5 billion now in process, FSA anticipates it will issue
additional payments by the end of November for 2019 commodities
covered under ARC-Individual (ARC-IC) and additional commodities
that trigger PLC and ARC-CO payments for which rates have not
yet been published
Producers who had 2019 covered commodities enrolled in ARC-CO
can visit the ARC and PLC webpage for payment rates applicable
to their county and each covered commodity. For farms and
covered commodities enrolled in 2019 PLC, the following crops
met payment triggers: barley, canola, chickpeas (small and
large), corn, dry peas, grain sorghum, lentils, peanuts, seed
cotton and wheat.
Oats and soybeans did not meet 2019 PLC payment triggers.
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2019 PLC payment rates for the following covered
commodities have not been determined: crambe, flaxseed, long and
medium grain rice, mustard seed, rapeseed, safflower, sesame seed,
sunflower seed and temperate Japonica rice. Payment rates for these
commodities will be announced at a later date.
Web-Based Decision Tools
In partnership with USDA, the University of Illinois and Texas A&M
University offer web-based decision tools to assist producers in
making informed, educated decisions using crop data specific to
their respective farming operations. Tools include:
Gardner-farmdoc Payment Calculator, the University of Illinois tool
that offers farmers the ability to run payment estimate modeling for
their farms and counties for ARC-County and PLC.
ARC and PLC Decision Tool, the Texas A&M tool allows producers to
analyze payment yield updates and expected payments for 2021.
Producers who have used the tool in the past should see their
username and much of their farm data already available in the
system. For more information on ARC and PLC, including two online
decision tools that assist producers in making enrollment and
election decisions specific to their operations, visit the ARC and
PLC webpage.
For additional questions and assistance, contact your local USDA
service center. To locate your local FSA office, visit farmers.gov/service-locator.
All USDA Service Centers are open for business, including some that
are open to visitors to conduct business in person by appointment
only. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with
the FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or any other
Service Center agency should call ahead and schedule an appointment.
Service Centers that are open for appointments will pre-screen
visitors based on health concerns or recent travel, and visitors
must adhere to social distancing guidelines. Visitors are required
to wear a face covering during their appointment. Field work will
continue with appropriate social distancing. Our program delivery
staff will be in the office, and they will be working with our
producers in office, by phone, and using online tools. More
information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.
[USDA Farm Service Agency]
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