Source: USDA, 2/9/21 Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for 2021 must do so by March 15. Producers who have not yet signed a 2021 enrollment contract or who want to make an election change should contact their local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to make an appointment. Program enrollment for 2021 is required in order to participate in the programs, but elections for the 2021 crop year are optional and otherwise remain the same as elections made for 2020.“FSA offices have multiple programs competing for the time and attention of our staff. Because of the importance and complexities of the ARC and PLC programs, and to ensure we meet your program delivery expectations, please do not wait to start the enrollment process,” said FSA Acting Administrator Steve Peterson. “I cannot emphasize enough the need to begin the program election and enrollment process now. This process can be completed when applying for other FSA programs as well.” ARC and
PLC provide income support to farmers from substantial drops in crop prices or
revenues and are vital economic safety nets for most American farms. Although
1,033,310 contracts have been completed to date, this represents less than 59%
of the more than 1.7 million contracts anticipated by the Agency. By enrolling
soon, producers can beat the rush as the deadline nears. Producers
who do not complete enrollment by close of business local time on Monday, March
15 will not be enrolled in ARC or PLC for the 2021 crop year and will be
ineligible to receive a payment should one trigger for an eligible crop. ARC and
PLC contracts can be emailed, faxed or physically signed and mailed back to
FSA. Producers with level 2 eauthentication access can electronically sign
contracts. Service Center staff can also work with producers to sign and
securely transmit contracts electronically through two commercially available
tools: Box and OneSpan. You can learn more about these solutions at farmers.gov/mydocs. Producers may also make arrangements
to drop off signed contracts at the FSA county office. Please call ahead for
local mailing or drop off information and options for submitting signed
contracts electronically. Producers
are eligible to enroll farms with base acres for the following commodities:
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. Yield
Data and Web-Based Decision Tools Available FSA
recently updated the annual and benchmark yields for ARC/PLC program years 2019, 2020 and 2021. This data
is useful to producers in choosing to participate in either ARC or PLC. For
added assistance with ARC and PLC decisions, USDA partnered with the University
of Illinois and Texas A&M University to 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 that allow producers to analyze payment yield updates and
expected payments for 2019 and 2020. Producers who have used the tool in
the past should see their username and much of their farm data will
already be available in the system.
Crop
Insurance Considerations Producers
are reminded that enrolling in ARC or PLC programs can impact eligibility for
some crop insurance products. Producers who elect and enroll in PLC also have
the option of purchasing Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) through their
Approved Insurance Provider. Producers of covered commodities who elect ARC are
ineligible for SCO on their planted acres. Unlike SCO, RMA’s Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) is unaffected by participating in ARC for the same crop, on the same acres. You may elect ECO regardless of your farm program election. Upland
cotton farmers who choose to enroll seed cotton base acres in ARC or PLC are
ineligible for the stacked income protection plan (STAX) on their planted
cotton acres. More
Information For more
information on ARC and PLC including web-based decision tools, visit farmers.gov/arc-plc. All USDA
Service Centers are open for business, including those that restrict in-person
visits or require appointments. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct
business with NRCS, Farm Service Agency, 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
also required to wear a face covering during their appointment. Our program
delivery staff will continue to work with our producers by phone, email, and
using online tools. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus. Visit farmers.gov/service-center-locator to
find location and contact information for the nearest FSA county office. USDA is
an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
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