The US Department of Agriculture's two main commodity safety-net programmes, Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), will generate about $13.8 billion in gross payments to eligible producers for the 2025 crop year, Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins announced on 7 October. USDA says it is by far the largest annual payout since Congress created the programmes in the Agricultural Act of 2014.
The total is before payment-limit reductions and the 5.7% sequestration rate that the law requires on every ARC and PLC payment. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will pay producers as it completes the calculations.
The jump follows the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, signed on 4 July, which strengthens both programmes from the 2025 crop year with higher statutory reference prices and changes to how the effective reference price is calculated. For 2025 only, producers automatically receive whichever of ARC or PLC pays more, whatever they elected. The law also raises the payment limit from $125,000 to $155,000, adjusted for inflation each year; for the 2025 crop year it is $160,000.
Sixteen crops triggered a PLC payment for 2025: chickpeas (small and large), canola, corn, dry peas, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils, peanuts, rice (long grain, medium grain and japonica), safflower, seed cotton, soybeans and wheat. ARC-County payments depend on county revenue and are triggered county by county.
PLC pays when the effective price of a covered commodity falls below its effective reference price; ARC pays when actual crop revenue falls below a guaranteed level, based either on county revenue or on an individual farm's revenue. Rollins said the support gives producers "critical liquidity to cover operating costs, prepare for the next crop year and invest in their operations."
The law also added 30 million new base acres nationwide. Because eligible acres exceeded that cap, FSA cut all newly allocated base acres by 3.69% across the board; the extra acres count from the 2026 crop year. Election and enrolment for 2026 ARC and PLC are now open, and USDA is asking producers to book appointments at their FSA county offices.
Source: USDA
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