Farm bill

See maps of the 2019 ARC-CO and PLC corn, soybean and wheat payments.

Payments are associated with the 2019 harvest yield and the subsequent 12 months of national prices that were averaged to determine the marketing year average (MYA).  Payments were triggered in October 2020 and later issued to producers. 

• The ARC-CO payments displayed are actual per acre payments based on county yield and MYA.
• The PLC payments displayed are estimated based on the actual per bushel PLC payment multiplied by an estimated typical PLC yield in each county.
• The difference map shows actual per acre ARC-CO payments subtracted from the estimated PLC payments.
  • The darker the blue, the larger the ARC-CO payments were estimated to be as compared to PLC payments in that county.
  • The darker the orange, the larger the PLC payments were estimated to be as compared to ARC-CO payments in that county.
• The maps show that as prices drop beyond the reference price, the more likely PLC is to have larger payments unless yield is notably below average.

Presentation slides

• 2021 Farm Bill FSA meeting Extension presentation
• ARC/PLC Program Overview

Farm Bill ARC/PLC Decision for 2021

(Webinar video: 1:30:39)

ARC-CO

Farm Service Agency abbreviates Agricultural Risk Coverage based on county yield as ARC-CO. ARC-CO protects 85 percent of commodity crop base acres using countywide yield and a national marketing year average (MYA) price to determine if payments are triggered. 

PLC

Farm Service Agency abbreviates Price Loss Coverage as PLC. PLC protects 85 percent of commodity crop base acres using a national marketing year average price and a predetermined effective reference price to determine if payments are triggered. If the payments are triggered, the difference between the effective reference price and the MYA is then multiplied by the producer’s farm and commodity specific PLC yield.

ARC-IC

Farm Service Agency abbreviates Agricultural Risk Coverage based on producer’s individual yield as ARC-IC. ARC-CO protects only 65 percent of covered commodity crops planted on the individual’s farm. It uses the producer’s actual yield and a national marketing year average price to determine if payments are triggered. ARC-IC is a whole farm program, meaning all commodities on a specific farm number must be enrolled in ARC-IC. 

Covered commodities

ARC and PLC are not available for all agricultural crops grown in Minnesota. Only covered commodities with established base acres are eligible for participation in ARC and PLC sign-up. The 22 covered commodities nationwide include wheat, oats, barley, corn, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, sunflower seed, rapeseed, canola, safflower, flaxseed, mustard seed, crambe, sesame seed, seed cotton, dry peas, lentils, small chickpeas, large chickpeas, and peanuts. Farm Service Agency recognizes 13 covered commodities in Minnesota. University of Minnesota Extension’s Farm Bill educational analysis focuses on corn, soybean and wheat pricing and sign-up decisions.