Ag programs deadline March 15

DES MOINES – Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage programs for the 2024 crop year have until March 15 to revise elections and sign contracts.

Both safety net programs, delivered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency, provide income support to farmers who experience substantial declines in crop prices or revenues for the 2024 crop year.

In Iowa, producers have completed 61,996 contracts to date, representing 38% of the more than 163,000 expected contracts.

Producers can elect coverage and enroll in ARC-County or PLC, which provide crop-by-crop protection, or ARC-Individual, which protects the entire farm.

Although election changes for 2024 are optional, producers must enroll, with a signed contract, each year. If a producer has a multi-year contract on the farm, the contract will continue for 2024 unless an election change is made.

If producers do not submit their election revisions by the March 15 deadline, the election remains the same as their 2023 election for eligible commodities on the farm.

Producers who do not complete enrollment and sign their contracts by the deadline will not be enrolled in ARC or PLC for the 2024 year and will not receive a payment if one is triggered.

Farm owners can only enroll in these programs if they have a share interest in the commodity.

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.

Many universities, including Iowa State University, offer web-based decision tools to help producers make informed, educated decisions using crop data specific to their respective farming operations.

Producers are reminded that enrolling in ARC or PLC programs can impact eligibility for some crop insurance products offered by USDA’s Risk Management Agency.

Producers who elect and enroll in PLC also have the option of purchasing supplemental coverage option through their approved insurance providers, but producers of covered commodities who elect ARC are ineligible for SCO on their planted acres.

Unlike SCO, RMA’s enhanced coverage option is unaffected by participating in ARC for the same crop, on the same acres. Y

Upland cotton farmers who choose to enroll seed cotton base acres in ARC or PLC are ineligible for the stacked income protection plan, or STAX, on their planted cotton acres.

For more information on ARC and PLC, producers can visit the ARC and PLC webpage or contact their local USDA Service Center.