Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on March 27 that farm owners and producers will have one additional week to choose between Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC). The new deadline is April 7, 2015, and individuals will be able to update yield history or reallocate base acres until this date as well.
If no changes are made to yield history or base acres, the current data will be used. If an ARC or PLC choice is not made, there will be no 2014 crop year payments for the farm. In addition, the farm will default to PLC coverage for the 2015 through 2018 crop years.
"This is an important decision for producers because these programs help farmers and ranchers protect their operations from unexpected changes in the marketplace," said Vilsack. "Nearly 98 percent of owners have already updated their yield and base acres, and 90 percent of producers have enrolled in ARC or PLC. These numbers are strong, and continue to rise. This additional week will give producers a little more time to have those final conversations, review their data, visit their local Farm Service Agency offices, and make their decisions.”
These safety net programs, which were established as a part of the 2014 Farm Bill, are designed to provide financial protection to farmers from changes in the marketplace. Some of the commodities covered by ARC and PLC include corn, wheat, barley, canola, chickpeas, flaxseed, lentils, oats and peanuts. Upland cotton is no longer covered.