Farm program · mustard seed

Mustard seed: 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 mustard seed is $0.2731/lb (FSA). PLC pays when the national season-average price ends below that; the loan rate, $0.1110/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 $0.3937/lb.

At FSA’s projected 2026/27 season-average price (FSA table of Sep 11, 2026), $0.3170/lb, PLC would pay nothing for 2026. The real rate comes from the final price after the marketing year ends (Sept 2026 to Aug 2027).

2027: These figures wait on USDA’s closing 2025/26 season-average price; FSA’s table of Sep 11, 2026 still shows it as projected ($0.3075/lb), and the answer depends on it.

Typical-farm verdicts, 2026: Leans ARC-CO 32.

Prices in dollars per pound, FSA’s unit for mustard seed.

Run mustard seed in the calculator

How the mustard seed 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: $0.2670 · 2021: $0.3110 · 2022: $0.4210 · 2023: $0.5790 · 2024: $0.4490 (struck: the high and low year). Average of the middle three: $0.3937. 88% of that is $0.3464, above the $0.2731 cap (115%), so the cap holds: $0.2731.

2026 ARC-CO benchmark price. 2020: $0.2731 (raised from $0.2670) · 2021: $0.3110 · 2022: $0.4210 · 2023: $0.5790 · 2024: $0.4490. Drop the high ($0.5790) and low ($0.2731); the middle three average $0.3937.

2027. These figures wait on USDA’s closing 2025/26 season-average price; FSA’s table of Sep 11, 2026 still shows it as projected ($0.3075/lb), and the answer depends on it.

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.

Mustard seed ARC-CO benchmarks by county

FSA’s official 2026 county file has a mustard seed benchmark yield for 73 counties in 9 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 (6 counties)

Caribou · Clearwater · Fremont · Latah · Lewis · Nez Perce

Idaho: every crop by county

Kansas (1 county)

Sumner

Kansas: every crop by county

Maine (3 counties)

Aroostook · Fort Kent · Houlton

Maine: every crop by county

Montana (20 counties)

Blaine · Chouteau · Daniels · Dawson · Fergus · Glacier · Hill · Liberty · McCone · Park · Petroleum · Phillips · Pondera · Richland · Roosevelt · Sheridan · Teton · Toole · Valley · Wibaux

Montana: every crop by county

New Jersey (3 counties)

Cumberland · Gloucester · Salem

New Jersey: every crop by county

North Dakota (29 counties)

Adams · Benson · Billings · Bottineau · Bowman · Burke · Cavalier · Dickey · Divide · Dunn · Golden Valley · Grand Forks · Hettinger · Logan · McHenry · McIntosh · McKenzie · McLean · Mercer · Mountrail · Nelson · Renville · Rolette · Sheridan · Slope · Stark · Towner · Ward · Williams

North Dakota: every crop by county

Oregon (4 counties)

Polk · Umatilla · Wasco · Yamhill

Oregon: every crop by county

South Dakota (1 county)

Perkins

South Dakota: every crop by county

Washington (6 counties)

Columbia · Garfield · Lincoln · Spokane · Walla Walla · Whitman

Washington: every crop by county

Questions about mustard seed

What is the 2026 effective reference price for mustard seed?

$0.2731 per pound, from FSA's 2026 table. The statutory reference price is $0.2375; 88% of the 2020 to 2024 Olympic average season-average price is $0.3464, and the cap is $0.2731. The 2026 ARC-CO benchmark price is $0.3937 and the loan rate is $0.1110.

What is the 2027 effective reference price for mustard seed?

Not yet. These figures wait on USDA’s closing 2025/26 season-average price; FSA’s table of Sep 11, 2026 still shows it as projected ($0.3075/lb), and the answer depends on it.

Will PLC pay on mustard seed for 2026?

At FSA table of Sep 11, 2026's projected 2026/27 price of $0.3170/lb, PLC would pay nothing for 2026. FSA's own table of Sep 11, 2026 shows no payment at $0.3170. The real rate is set by the final season-average price, published after the marketing year (Sept 2026 to Aug 2027) ends.

Should I pick ARC or PLC for mustard seed?

We do not give a pick for mustard seed 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 mustard seed ARC-CO benchmark yield?

FSA's 2026 county file lists mustard seed benchmarks for 73 counties; each one has a page here. A county FSA does not list has no mustard seed 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

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