Nebraska USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) is reminding producers now is the time to make elections and enroll in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2024 crop year. The signup period is open through March 15, 2024, and producers are encouraged to begin working with their USDA county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to complete the process.
Producers can learn about the ARC and PLC options for 2024 during a University of Nebraska-Lincoln Center for Agricultural Profitability (CAP) webinar scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CT on Thursday, Jan. 25. Dillon Breinig, production and compliance programs specialist for the Nebraska Farm Service Agency, and Brad Lubben, Extension policy specialist in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Department of Agricultural Economics, will present and share information relevant for producers, ag professionals and ag stakeholders. Registration for the webinar is free and can be found directly at https://go.unl.edu/wpa0 or go to the CAP website at cap.unl.edu/webinars.
In addition to the webinar, UNL Extension and FSA staff will be hosting in-person ARC/PLC information meetings at locations across Nebraska, including:
Alliance, Feb. 8 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Knight Museum; Gering, Feb. 6 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Gering Civic Center; Sidney, Feb. 7 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds; and Valentine, Feb. 9 from 9 a.m. to noon at Mid-Plains Community College.
The meetings are free and open to the public. To find the current listing with meeting location details, dates and times, go to https://cap.unl.edu/farmbill. This list will be updated with more information as it becomes available.
ARC and PLC are key USDA safety-net programs that help producers weather fluctuations in either revenue or price for certain crops.
“Safety-net programs like ARC and PLC are designed to help producers mitigate some of the financial stressors associated with crop production. I encourage farmers to evaluate their program elections and enroll for the 2024 crop year,” said Nebraska FSA Acting State Executive Director Tim Divis.
Brad Lubben, Extension policy specialist and director of CAP, said changes in commodity crop prices over the past several years may influence producers’ ARC/PLC decision-making process for 2024.
“With the one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, producers face a familiar choice between ARC and PLC for 2024, but under different circumstances now as compared to the past several years,” said Lubben. “Understanding the program mechanics and analysis will help producers make sound enrollment decisions with FSA.”
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 effective reference price. Producers can elect coverage and enroll in ARC-County or PLC on a crop-by-crop basis, or ARC-Individual for the entire farm, for the 2024 crop year. Although election changes for 2024 are optional, enrollment (signed contract) is required for each year of the program. If a producer has a multi-year contract on the farm, it will be necessary to sign a new contract for the farm by the March 15th deadline if a 2024 election change is desired.
If an election is not submitted by the deadline of March 15, 2024, the election defaults to the current election for crops on the farm from the prior crop year.
All program participants are encouraged to review their previous program elections, Divis said.