Farm program · long grain rice

Long grain rice: 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 long grain rice is $0.1690/lb (FSA). PLC pays when the national season-average price ends below that; the loan rate, $0.0770/lb, 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 $0.1690/lb.

At USDA’s projected 2026/27 season-average price (WASDE, Oct 9, 2026) ($14.00/cwt), $0.1400/lb, PLC would pay a 2026 rate of $0.0290/lb. The real rate comes from the final price after the marketing year ends (Aug 2026 to July 2027).

2027 (est.): ERP $0.1690, benchmark price $0.1690. The 2025/26 price is not final yet (FSA’s table of Sep 11, 2026), but these figures come out the same at any 2025/26 price.

Typical-farm verdicts, 2026: Leans PLC 103, Close, either one 2.

Prices in dollars per pound, FSA’s unit for long grain rice.

Run long grain rice in the calculator

How the long grain rice 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: $0.1260 · 2021: $0.1360 · 2022: $0.1670 · 2023: $0.1590 · 2024: $0.1400 (struck: the high and low year). Average of the middle three: $0.1450. 88% of that is $0.1276, below the $0.1690 statutory price, so the statutory price holds: $0.1690.

2026 ARC-CO benchmark price. 2020: $0.1690 (raised from $0.1260) · 2021: $0.1690 (raised from $0.1360) · 2022: $0.1690 (raised from $0.1670) · 2023: $0.1690 (raised from $0.1590) · 2024: $0.1690 (raised from $0.1400). Drop the high ($0.1690) and low ($0.1690); the middle three average $0.1690.

2027. The 2025/26 price is not final yet (FSA’s table of Sep 11, 2026), but these figures come out the same at any 2025/26 price. Statutory price $0.1690, so the effective reference price is $0.1690; benchmark price $0.1690.

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.

Long grain rice ARC-CO benchmarks by county

FSA’s official 2026 county file has a long grain rice benchmark yield for 118 counties in 12 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.

Arkansas (35 counties)

Arkansas · Ashley · Chicot · Clay · Conway · Craighead · Crawford · Crittenden · Cross · Desha · Drew · Faulkner · Greene · Independence · Jackson · Jefferson · Lafayette · Lawrence · Lee · Lincoln · Logan · Lonoke · Miller · Mississippi · Monroe · Phillips · Poinsett · Pope · Prairie · Pulaski · Randolph · St. Francis · White · Woodruff · Yell

Arkansas: every crop by county

California (7 counties)

Butte · Colusa · Glenn · Placer · San Joaquin · Sutter · Yuba

California: every crop by county

Florida (1 county)

Palm Beach

Florida: every crop by county

Illinois (2 counties)

Alexander · Union

Illinois: every crop by county

Kentucky (1 county)

Fulton

Kentucky: every crop by county

Louisiana (26 counties)

Acadia · Allen · Avoyelles · Beauregard · Calcasieu · Caldwell · Cameron · Catahoula · Concordia · East Carroll · Evangeline · Franklin · Jefferson Davis · Lafayette · Madison · Morehouse · Natchitoches · Pointe Coupee · Rapides · Red River · Richland · St. Landry · St. Martin · Tensas · Vermilion · West Carroll

Louisiana: every crop by county

Mississippi (16 counties)

Attala · Bolivar · Coahoma · DeSoto · Grenada · Humphreys · Leflore · Noxubee · Panola · Quitman · Sharkey · Sunflower · Tallahatchie · Tunica · Washington · Yazoo

Mississippi: every crop by county

Missouri (9 counties)

Bollinger · Butler · Dunklin · Marion · Mississippi · New Madrid · Pemiscot · Ripley · Stoddard

Missouri: every crop by county

Oklahoma (3 counties)

Le Flore · McCurtain · Sequoyah

Oklahoma: every crop by county

South Carolina (1 county)

Marlboro

South Carolina: every crop by county

Tennessee (2 counties)

Dyer · Lake

Tennessee: every crop by county

Texas (15 counties)

Bowie · Brazoria · Brazos · Chambers · Colorado · Fort Bend · Harris · Jackson · Jefferson · Lavaca · Liberty · Matagorda · Red River · Waller · Wharton

Texas: every crop by county

Questions about long grain rice

What is the 2026 effective reference price for long grain rice?

$0.1690 per pound, from FSA's 2026 table. The statutory reference price is $0.1690; 88% of the 2020 to 2024 Olympic average season-average price is $0.1276, and the cap is $0.1944. The 2026 ARC-CO benchmark price is $0.1690 and the loan rate is $0.0770.

What is the 2027 effective reference price for long grain rice?

$0.1690 per pound by our math from FSA's final prices (est.); the 2027 ARC-CO benchmark price is $0.1690. FSA publishes the official 2027 figures. The 2025/26 price is not final yet (FSA’s table of Sep 11, 2026), but these figures come out the same at any 2025/26 price.

Will PLC pay on long grain rice for 2026?

At USDA WASDE, Oct 9, 2026's projected 2026/27 price of $0.1400/lb, PLC would pay a 2026 rate of $0.0290/lb. FSA's own table of Sep 11, 2026 shows $0.0340/lb at $0.1350. The real rate is set by the final season-average price, published after the marketing year (Aug 2026 to July 2027) ends.

Should I pick ARC or PLC for long grain rice?

We do not give a pick for long grain rice 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 long grain rice ARC-CO benchmark yield?

FSA's 2026 county file lists long grain rice benchmarks for 118 counties; each one has a page here. A county FSA does not list has no long grain rice 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.

Sources

Other crops

Corn, soybeans and wheat · Sorghum · Barley · Oats · Peanuts · Medium and short grain rice · Temperate japonica rice · Seed cotton · Dry peas · Lentils · Small chickpeas · Large chickpeas · Canola · Flaxseed · Sunflower seed · Mustard seed · Rapeseed · Safflower · Crambe · Sesame seed