Area Farmers Face Key Decisions

Iowa crop producers should review their farm bill program options and complete enrollment decisions with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency ahead of upcoming Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) deadlines. The 2026 election and enrollment period runs Sept. 16 through Dec. 11, 2026 . Enrollment for the 2027 crop year is open Nov. 2, 2026, through March 15, 2027 .

ARC-CO and PLC remain important components of the federal farm safety net, offering protection against revenue losses and low commodity prices. Producers can choose a multi-year sign-up or enroll annually.

Because ARC-CO payments depend on county-level outcomes and PLC payments depend primarily on commodity prices, the preferred option can vary by farm and crop.

Understanding the program choice The ARC-CO program provides protection when county revenue falls below a benchmark level. PLC provides payments when national marketing year average prices fall below effective reference prices. For 2026, those prices are $4.42 per bushel for corn and $10.71 per bushel for soybeans. USDA FSA reports effective reference prices for other covered commodities.

The Ag Decision Maker Decision Tool, updated with FSA county-level yields and price projections, lets producers compare alternatives before enrolling.

Changes for 2026 include:

The ARC-CO revenue guarantee increased from 86% to 90% of benchmark revenue, and the payment cap rose from 10% to 12% of the benchmark revenue. National loan rates increased from $2.20 to $2.42 per bushel for corn and $6.20 to $6.82 for soybeans. Payment limits also increased for 2025, with additional annual adjustments based on inflation. Iowa gained 1.49 million base acres under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act (WFTCA), and no base acres were lost through the allocation process. Payments on only the additional acres will be reduced by 3.69% in 2026. Payments for 2025 crops Mid-year changes in 2025 from the act meant producers received the higher of their ARC-CO or PLC payments in October 2026, regardless of which program they originally enrolled in for 2025 crops.

Eighty-five counties triggered an ARC-CO payment for corn base acres, and 18 counties triggered one for soybean base acres. Figure 1 shows average ARC-CO county payments.

Figure 1 . ARC-CO Payments per Base Acre for Corn (top) and Soybeans (bottom). Sources: USDA Farm Service Agency; Ag Decision Maker Farm Bill Payment Projections and Data by Crop and County (2019-2025 crop years) Producers in counties that did not trigger an ARC-CO payment, or whose farm-level PLC yields resulted in a higher PLC payment, received PLC instead. PLC rates per base acre were $0.21 per bushel for corn and $0.17 per bushel for soybeans, and final payment is based on a farm’s PLC yields. Based on average PLC yield data from USDA FSA, payments likely ranged from $20 to $40 per base acre for corn and $6 to $9 per base acre for soybeans.

Producers can enter farm-level information in the Ag Decision Maker Decision Tool to view 2025 payment results. The results assume a 5.7% sequestration rate and payments made on 85% of a farm’s base acres. The tools do not account for any program payment limits.

Resources available Iowa State University Extension and Outreach created two video updates to help walk through sign-up information and the interactive Ag Decision Maker tools:

2026 Farm Bill Decisions with USDA Farm Service Agency and Ag Decision Maker: enrollment options and deadlines. 2026 Farm Bill Decision Tool Calculator: how to find and use the payment estimator Decision Tool. Iowa farmers can also access several resources to support ARC-CO and PLC evaluations:

Ag Decision Maker Farm Bill Information Page: includes sign-up dates, publications and decision tools. 2026-2027 ARC-CO and PLC Payment Estimator for Iowa: available through Ag Decision Maker. CARD ARC/PLC Payments Mapping Tool: provides county-level visualizations of projected payments across Iowa. FSA news releases Producers are encouraged to contact their local USDA FSA office to review farm-specific base acres, yields and enrollment options well before the deadlines.

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Area Farmers Face Key Decisions

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