Farm program · flaxseed

Flaxseed: ARC or PLC for 2026 and 2027

By Sigurd Lindquist, a Certified Crop Adviser (CCA).

Find your county’s short answer

Quick answer. The 2026 PLC effective reference price for flaxseed is $13.30/bu (FSA). PLC pays when the national season-average price ends below that; the loan rate, $6.216/bu, is as low as the price counts. ARC-CO pays when county revenue falls below 90% of benchmark revenue, figured at the 2026 benchmark price of $14.70/bu.

At FSA’s projected 2026/27 season-average price (FSA table of Sep 11, 2026), $13.00/bu, PLC would pay a 2026 rate of $0.30/bu. The real rate comes from the final price after the marketing year ends (July 2026 to June 2027).

2027 (est.): ERP $13.30, benchmark price $14.70.

Typical-farm verdicts, 2026: Close, either one 67, Leans ARC-CO 44.

Prices in dollars per bushel, FSA’s unit for flaxseed.

Run flaxseed in the calculator

How the flaxseed prices are figured

The effective reference price is the lesser of 115% of the statutory price, or the greater of the statutory price and 88% of the Olympic average season-average price for the five most recent crop years (2020 to 2024 for 2026; 2021 to 2025 for 2027). The ARC-CO benchmark price uses the same five years, each raised to at least the effective reference price.

2026 effective reference price. Season-average prices 2020: $11.10 · 2021: $25.90 · 2022: $17.50 · 2023: $12.10 · 2024: $12.50 (struck: the high and low year). Average of the middle three: $14.0333. 88% of that is $12.3493, below the $13.30 statutory price, so the statutory price holds: $13.30.

2026 ARC-CO benchmark price. 2020: $13.30 (raised from $11.10) · 2021: $25.90 · 2022: $17.50 · 2023: $13.30 (raised from $12.10) · 2024: $13.30 (raised from $12.50). Drop the high ($25.90) and low ($13.30); the middle three average $14.70.

2027 effective reference price. Season-average prices 2021: $25.90 · 2022: $17.50 · 2023: $12.10 · 2024: $12.50 · 2025: $12.60 (struck: the high and low year). Average of the middle three: $14.2000. 88% of that is $12.496, below the $13.30 statutory price, so the statutory price holds: $13.30.

2027 ARC-CO benchmark price. 2021: $25.90 · 2022: $17.50 · 2023: $13.30 (raised from $12.10) · 2024: $13.30 (raised from $12.50) · 2025: $13.30 (raised from $12.60). Drop the high ($25.90) and low ($13.30); the middle three average $14.70.

2026 figures are FSA’s and match our math from FSA’s own price column. 2027 is our math (est.); FSA publishes the official figures.

Flaxseed ARC-CO benchmarks by county

FSA’s official 2026 county file has a flaxseed benchmark yield for 154 counties in 19 states. Each county page shows the benchmark, the five yields behind it, the yield where ARC-CO starts to pay and the PLC vs ARC-CO break-even.

Idaho (3 counties)

Idaho · Lewis · Nez Perce

Idaho: every crop by county

Illinois (1 county)

Woodford

Illinois: every crop by county

Iowa (4 counties)

Ida · Monona · Pocahontas · Woodbury

Iowa: every crop by county

Kansas (1 county)

Cheyenne

Kansas: every crop by county

Maine (1 county)

Houlton

Maine: every crop by county

Michigan (1 county)

Sanilac

Michigan: every crop by county

Minnesota (22 counties)

Aitkin · Beltrami · Chippewa · Clay · Clearwater · Crow Wing · Douglas · Kittson · Lac qui Parle · Lake of the Woods · Lyon · Marshall · Norman · Otter Tail · Pennington · Polk · Red Lake · Roseau · Stearns · Stevens · Todd · West Otter Tail

Minnesota: every crop by county

Missouri (1 county)

Cass

Missouri: every crop by county

Montana (18 counties)

Blaine · Chouteau · Daniels · Dawson · Fallon · Golden Valley · Hill · Liberty · Phillips · Richland · Roosevelt · Rosebud · Sheridan · Teton · Toole · Valley · Wibaux · Yellowstone

Montana: every crop by county

Nebraska (1 county)

Deuel

Nebraska: every crop by county

North Carolina (1 county)

Columbus

North Carolina: every crop by county

North Dakota (53 counties)

Adams · Barnes · Benson · Billings · Bottineau · Bowman · Burke · Burleigh · Cass · Cavalier · Dickey · Divide · Dunn · Eddy · Emmons · Foster · Golden Valley · Grand Forks · Grant · Griggs · Hettinger · Kidder · LaMoure · Logan · McHenry · McIntosh · McKenzie · McLean · Mercer · Morton · Mountrail · Nelson · Oliver · Pembina · Pierce · Ramsey · Ransom · Renville · Richland · Rolette · Sargent · Sheridan · Sioux · Slope · Stark · Steele · Stutsman · Towner · Traill · Walsh · Ward · Wells · Williams

North Dakota: every crop by county

Oregon (4 counties)

Malheur · Union · Wallowa · Washington

Oregon: every crop by county

South Carolina (4 counties)

Clarendon · Florence · Georgetown · Williamsburg

South Carolina: every crop by county

South Dakota (30 counties)

Brookings · Brown · Butte · Campbell · Clark · Codington · Corson · Day · Deuel · Dewey · Edmunds · Faulk · Grant · Harding · Hughes · Jones · Kingsbury · Lake · Lyman · McCook · McPherson · Mellette · Miner · Perkins · Potter · Stanley · Todd · Turner · Walworth · Ziebach

South Dakota: every crop by county

Vermont (1 county)

Orleans

Vermont: every crop by county

Washington (4 counties)

Adams · Franklin · Lincoln · Whitman

Washington: every crop by county

Wisconsin (3 counties)

Clark · Marathon · Portage

Wisconsin: every crop by county

Wyoming (1 county)

Park

Wyoming: every crop by county

Questions about flaxseed

What is the 2026 effective reference price for flaxseed?

$13.30 per bushel, from FSA's 2026 table. The statutory reference price is $13.30; 88% of the 2020 to 2024 Olympic average season-average price is $12.3493, and the cap is $15.295. The 2026 ARC-CO benchmark price is $14.70 and the loan rate is $6.216.

What is the 2027 effective reference price for flaxseed?

$13.30 per bushel by our math from FSA's final prices (est.); the 2027 ARC-CO benchmark price is $14.70. FSA publishes the official 2027 figures.

Will PLC pay on flaxseed for 2026?

At FSA table of Sep 11, 2026's projected 2026/27 price of $13.00/bu, PLC would pay a 2026 rate of $0.30/bu. FSA's own table of Sep 11, 2026 shows $0.30/bu at $13.00. The real rate is set by the final season-average price, published after the marketing year (July 2026 to June 2027) ends.

Should I pick ARC or PLC for flaxseed?

We do not give a pick for flaxseed yet. The county pages show FSA's official benchmark, where each program pays more by price, and the calculator runs your own PLC yield and price.

Where do I find my county's flaxseed ARC-CO benchmark yield?

FSA's 2026 county file lists flaxseed benchmarks for 154 counties; each one has a page here. A county FSA does not list has no flaxseed benchmark; ask the county FSA office.

This is an estimate, not a USDA determination. FSA ARC/PLC · FSA program data · Find your county office. Dollars are before the 5.7% sequestration cut.

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