Farm program · safflower
Safflower: ARC or PLC for 2026 and 2027
Find your county’s short answer
- Dec 112026 signup ends Dec 11, 2026.
- Nov 2 to Mar 152027 signup runs Nov 2, 2026 to Mar 15, 2027.
- Skip itDo nothing for 2026 and that farm gets no 2026 payment.
- SignEvery owner and operator on the farm signs.
- BringBring the farm’s FSA-156EZ. It lists the base acres and PLC yields.
Quick answer. The 2026 PLC effective reference price for safflower is $0.2438/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 $0.2773/lb.
At FSA’s projected 2026/27 season-average price (FSA table of Sep 11, 2026), $0.2150/lb, PLC would pay a 2026 rate of $0.0288/lb. 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 ($0.2080/lb), and the answer depends on it.
Typical-farm verdicts, 2026: Close, either one 16, Leans ARC-CO 85.
Prices in dollars per pound, FSA’s unit for safflower.
Run safflower in the calculator
How the safflower 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: $0.2150 · 2021: $0.2550 · 2022: $0.3330 · 2023: $0.3600 · 2024: $0.2430 (struck: the high and low year). Average of the middle three: $0.2770. 88% of that is $0.2438, above the $0.2375 statutory price and under the $0.2731 cap (115%).
2026 ARC-CO benchmark price. 2020: $0.2438 (raised from $0.2150) · 2021: $0.2550 · 2022: $0.3330 · 2023: $0.3600 · 2024: $0.2438 (raised from $0.2430). Drop the high ($0.3600) and low ($0.2438); the middle three average $0.2773.
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 ($0.2080/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.
Safflower ARC-CO benchmarks by county
FSA’s official 2026 county file has a safflower benchmark yield for 159 counties in 18 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.
California (15 counties)
Butte · Colusa · Contra Costa · Glenn · Kings · Madera · Merced · Riverside · Sacramento · San Benito · San Joaquin · Solano · Sutter · Yolo · Yuba
Kansas (17 counties)
Barton · Ellis · Finney · Gove · Graham · Hamilton · Lane · Morton · Ness · Norton · Rawlins · Rush · Sherman · Stafford · Stanton · Wallace · Wichita
Montana (23 counties)
Big Horn · Blaine · Carter · Chouteau · Daniels · Dawson · Fallon · Fergus · Liberty · McCone · Musselshell · Petroleum · Phillips · Prairie · Richland · Roosevelt · Rosebud · Sheridan · Stillwater · Treasure · Valley · Wibaux · Yellowstone
Nebraska (9 counties)
Banner · Box Butte · Cheyenne · Deuel · Furnas · Gosper · Hitchcock · Red Willow · Scotts Bluff
North Dakota (23 counties)
Adams · Billings · Bottineau · Bowman · Burke · Burleigh · Divide · Dunn · Emmons · Golden Valley · Grant · Hettinger · Kidder · McKenzie · McLean · Mercer · Morton · Mountrail · Oliver · Slope · Stark · Ward · Williams
South Dakota (14 counties)
Butte · Corson · Custer · Fall River · Haakon · Harding · Jackson · Jones · Meade · Oglala Lakota · Pennington · Perkins · Stanley · Ziebach
Texas (22 counties)
Andrews · Baylor · Carson · Castro · Crosby · Dallam · Deaf Smith · Floyd · Gray · Hale · Hall · Hidalgo · Jones · Knox · Lubbock · Mitchell · Motley · Parmer · Roberts · Sherman · Swisher · Wheeler
Questions about safflower
What is the 2026 effective reference price for safflower?
$0.2438 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 $0.2438, and the cap is $0.2731. The 2026 ARC-CO benchmark price is $0.2773 and the loan rate is $0.1110.
What is the 2027 effective reference price for safflower?
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 ($0.2080/lb), and the answer depends on it.
Will PLC pay on safflower for 2026?
At FSA table of Sep 11, 2026's projected 2026/27 price of $0.2150/lb, PLC would pay a 2026 rate of $0.0288/lb. FSA's own table of Sep 11, 2026 shows $0.0288/lb at $0.2150. 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 safflower?
We do not give a pick for safflower 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 safflower ARC-CO benchmark yield?
FSA's 2026 county file lists safflower benchmarks for 159 counties; each one has a page here. A county FSA does not list has no safflower 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
- FSA, 2026 MYA prices (Table 1, Sept 11, 2026)
- FSA, 2026 effective reference prices (Table 2, Sept 11, 2026)
- FSA, projected 2026 PLC payment rates (Table 3, Sept 11, 2026)
- FSA, 2026 ARC-CO benchmark prices (Table 4, Sept 11, 2026)
- FSA ARC/PLC program data (official county benchmark files)
- Federal Register 2026-00313, Jan 12, 2026 (FSA rule for the 2025 law)
- 7 CFR 1412.3, definitions (eCFR)
Other crops
Corn, soybeans and wheat · Sorghum · Barley · Oats · Peanuts · Long grain rice · Medium and short grain rice · Temperate japonica rice · Seed cotton · Dry peas · Lentils · Small chickpeas · Large chickpeas · Canola · Flaxseed · Sunflower seed · Mustard seed · Rapeseed · Crambe · Sesame seed