Source: USDA, 10/14/20 Agricultural producers can now make elections and enroll in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2021 crop year. The signup period opened Tuesday, Oct. 13. These key U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) safety-net programs help producers weather fluctuations in either revenue or price for certain crops, and more than $5 billion in payments are in the process of going out to producers who signed up for the 2019 crop year.“Although commodity prices are starting to show a glimmer of improvement, recent depressed prices and drops in revenue compounded by the effects of the pandemic have seriously impacted the bottom line for most agricultural operations,” said Richard Fordyce, Administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). “Through safety-net programs like ARC and PLC, we can help producers mitigate these financial stressors and keep the ag industry moving forward. Make time over the next few months to evaluate your program elections and enroll for the 2021 crop year.” 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. 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. More Information 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-center-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.
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