Farm program · 2026 and 2027 crop years
ARC or PLC for 2026 and 2027: decision calculator
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. By our math from final USDA prices, the 2027 PLC effective reference prices are $4.34 for corn, $10.62 for soybeans and $6.35 for wheat (2026: $4.42, $10.71, $6.35). PLC pays if the national season-average price ends below that. ARC-CO pays when county revenue falls below 90% of its benchmark. The 2026 signup closes Dec 11, 2026; the 2027 signup runs Nov 2, 2026 to Mar 15, 2027.
For a typical farm, 2026 corn, across 2,967 county and practice combinations: pick ARC-CO 0, leans ARC-CO 2,521, close 446, leans PLC 0, pick PLC 0. Your own PLC yield moves the answer; the calculator below gives yours, with the expected payments. How this is figured.
FSA’s official ARC-CO benchmark yields for program year 2026 (FSA file as of Jan 16, 2026) cover 2,772 counties.
Pick the year, crop and county, type your PLC yield, and set a price. The table shows which program pays more per base acre across a range of prices and county yields. It does not forecast the price. You set it.
Run your farm’s numbers
Run each crop on each FSA farm number separately. The election is made crop by crop, farm by farm.
FSA has separate irrigated and non-irrigated benchmarks here. A farm with both is weighted by its historical irrigated percentage on FSA’s records, not by what you plant this year.
From the FSA-156EZ. Base acres are not what you plant; each farm number has its own base.
On the FSA-156EZ for the farm. Each farm has its own.
Fills in from FSA’s official county file when we have it. You can type the number your county office gives you.
County average, not your farm. A normal year often comes in a bit above this.
USDA national season-average price for the marketing year, not your local cash price.
Goes on the printout and keeps each farm’s numbers apart on this device.
Loading FSA and USDA numbers for the calculator.
When is the ARC/PLC signup for 2026 and 2027?
- 2026: Sept 16 to Dec 11, 2026. The 2026 election must be unanimous among the producers on the farm.
- 2027: Nov 2, 2026 to Mar 15, 2027. From 2027 you can change the election crop by crop in each year’s signup.
- Multi-year contract, 2026 through 2031: one signature covers the years, and it stays in force while the farm’s records and producers do not change. What it saves is paperwork; the yearly chance to switch programs from 2027 on still applies through the annual election. If the operator, owners or farm records change, it ends and you enroll yearly. Some advisers prefer signing each year so nothing is assumed.
- If you don’t sign: for 2026, a farm with no election by Dec 11, 2026 keeps its 2025 election and gets no 2026 payment.
- When payments come: after Oct 1, 2027 for 2026 crops; after Oct 1, 2028 for 2027 crops.
2026 and 2027 effective reference prices
| Crop | 2026 ERP | 2027 ERP (est.) | 2026 ARC price | 2027 ARC price (est.) | Statutory now | Before 2025 | Loan rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corn | $4.42 | $4.34 | $5.03 | $4.96 | $4.10 | $3.70 | $2.42 |
| Soybeans | $10.71 | $10.62 | $12.17 | $12.11 | $10.00 | $8.40 | $6.82 |
| Wheat | $6.35 | $6.35 | $6.98 | $6.98 | $6.35 | $5.50 | $3.72 |
$ per bushel. ERP = PLC effective reference price. ARC price = ARC-CO benchmark price. Est. = our math from final USDA prices; FSA publishes the official 2027 figures. 2026 figures match those published by FSA-based sources and FSA’s 2026 county file.
Show the math for 2027
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 (2021 to 2025 for 2027; 2020 to 2024 for 2026).
Corn. Season-average prices 2021: $6.00 · 2022: $6.54 (dropped) · 2023: $4.55 · 2024: $4.24 · 2025: $4.16 (dropped) (struck: the high and low year). Average of the middle three: $4.9300. 88% of that is $4.34, above the $4.10 statutory price and under the $4.72 cap (115%).
Soybeans. Season-average prices 2021: $13.30 · 2022: $14.20 (dropped) · 2023: $12.40 · 2024: $10.00 (dropped) · 2025: $10.50 (struck: the high and low year). Average of the middle three: $12.0667. 88% of that is $10.62, above the $10.00 statutory price and under the $11.50 cap (115%).
Wheat. Season-average prices 2021: $7.63 · 2022: $8.83 (dropped) · 2023: $6.96 · 2024: $5.52 · 2025: $5.06 (dropped) (struck: the high and low year). Average of the middle three: $6.7033. 88% of the average is $5.90, below the $6.35 statutory price, so the statutory price holds: $6.35.
The ARC-CO benchmark price uses the same five years, with any year below the 2027 effective reference price raised to it:
Corn. 2021: $6.00 · 2022: $6.54 · 2023: $4.55 · 2024: $4.34 (raised from $4.24) · 2025: $4.34 (raised from $4.16). Drop the high ($6.54) and low ($4.34); the middle three average $4.96.
Soybeans. 2021: $13.30 · 2022: $14.20 · 2023: $12.40 · 2024: $10.62 (raised from $10.00) · 2025: $10.62 (raised from $10.50). Drop the high ($14.20) and low ($10.62); the middle three average $12.11.
Wheat. 2021: $7.63 · 2022: $8.83 · 2023: $6.96 · 2024: $6.35 (raised from $5.52) · 2025: $6.35 (raised from $5.06). Drop the high ($8.83) and low ($6.35); the middle three average $6.98.
Every other covered crop
FSA’s 2026 tables, in FSA’s own units (dollars per bushel or per pound). Each crop has a page with its county benchmarks.
| Crop | Unit | 2026 ERP | 2027 ERP | 2026 ARC price | Statutory | Loan rate | USDA proj. 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sorghum | bu | $4.67 | waits on 2025/26 price | $5.30 | $4.40 | $2.42 | $4.50 |
| Barley | bu | $5.58 | $5.62 est. | $6.43 | $5.45 | $2.75 | $5.70 |
| Oats | bu | $3.05 | $3.05 est. | $3.94 | $2.65 | $2.20 | $3.35 |
| Peanuts | lb | $0.3150 | $0.3150 est. | $0.3150 | $0.3150 | $0.1950 | $0.2400 |
| Long grain rice | lb | $0.1690 | $0.1690 est. | $0.1690 | $0.1690 | $0.0770 | $0.1400 |
| Medium and short grain rice | lb | $0.1690 | waits on 2025/26 price | $0.1700 | $0.1690 | $0.0770 | $0.1500 |
| Temperate japonica rice | lb | $0.2433 | waits on 2025/26 price | $0.2685 | $0.2433 | $0.0770 | $0.2050 |
| Seed cotton | lb | $0.4200 | waits on 2025/26 price | $0.4311 | $0.4200 | $0.3000 | $0.4114 |
| Dry peas | lb | $0.1314 | $0.1314 est. | $0.1493 | $0.1310 | $0.0687 | $0.1120 |
| Lentils | lb | $0.2731 | $0.2731 est. | $0.3530 | $0.2375 | $0.1430 | $0.1700 |
| Small chickpeas | lb | $0.2605 | waits on 2025/26 price | $0.3068 | $0.2265 | $0.1100 | $0.1670 |
| Large chickpeas | lb | $0.2950 | waits on 2025/26 price | $0.3547 | $0.2565 | $0.1540 | $0.2100 |
| Canola | lb | $0.2375 | $0.2375 est. | $0.2595 | $0.2375 | $0.1110 | $0.2450 |
| Flaxseed | bu | $13.30 | $13.30 est. | $14.70 | $13.30 | $6.216 | $13.00 |
| Sunflower seed | lb | $0.2375 | waits on 2025/26 price | $0.2512 | $0.2375 | $0.1110 | $0.2470 |
| Mustard seed | lb | $0.2731 | waits on 2025/26 price | $0.3937 | $0.2375 | $0.1110 | $0.3170 |
| Rapeseed | lb | $0.2375 | $0.2375 est. | $0.2375 | $0.2375 | $0.1110 | $0.3050 |
| Safflower | lb | $0.2438 | waits on 2025/26 price | $0.2773 | $0.2375 | $0.1110 | $0.2150 |
| Crambe | lb | $0.2375 | waits on 2025/26 price | $0.2567 | $0.2375 | $0.1110 | $0.3660 |
| Sesame seed | lb | $0.2731 | waits on 2025/26 price | $0.4000 | $0.2375 | $0.1110 | $0.3800 |
ERP = PLC effective reference price. ARC price = ARC-CO benchmark price. 2026 figures are FSA’s (table of Sep 11, 2026) and match our math from FSA’s price column. 2027 est. is our math from FSA’s final prices; where FSA still shows the 2025/26 price as projected and the answer depends on it, the 2027 figure waits. USDA proj.: WASDE for sorghum, barley, oats and long grain rice; FSA’s table for the rest. No pick is given for these crops yet: FSA’s price table starts with 2020/21, too few years for the scenarios.
What changed for 2026 and 2027?
As of Oct 9, 2026. The 2025 law (One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Pub. L. 119-21) and FSA’s January 2026 rule:
- Higher reference prices: corn $3.70 to $4.10, soybeans $8.40 to $10.00, wheat $5.50 to $6.35, for 2025 through 2030.
- Effective reference price: 88% of the Olympic average (was 85%), capped at 115% of statutory.
- ARC-CO: guarantee 90% of benchmark revenue (was 86%); payments up to 12% of benchmark (was 10%).
- New base acres: up to 30 million, from 2019 to 2023 plantings, cut 3.69% on the new acres only. New base takes the farm’s existing PLC yield for that crop, or the county average PLC yield if the farm has none.
- 2025 only: farms got the higher of ARC-CO or PLC automatically. That does not carry into 2026 or 2027.
- SCO: no longer tied to the ARC/PLC election; for 2026 the band to 90% is sold as ECO, and SCO goes to 90% in 2027. Ask your crop insurance agent.
- Payment limit: $155,000 per person, indexed (2025: $160,000). Actively engaged members of LLCs and S corporations can each carry a limit.
- Signup moved: the 2026 window opened Sept 16, 2026, later than the usual spring signup.
How do ARC-CO and PLC pay?
- PLC rate = effective reference price − the higher of the national season-average price or the loan rate. Paid on 85% of base acres × your PLC payment yield.
- ARC-CO rate = 90% of benchmark revenue − actual county revenue, never more than 12% of benchmark revenue. Paid on 85% of base acres.
- Benchmark revenue = FSA county benchmark yield × benchmark price. Actual revenue = actual county yield × the higher of the season-average price or the loan rate.
A worked example (made-up corn farm, 2027 prices)
County benchmark yield 180 bu, PLC yield 150 bu, 100 base acres, a county yield of 162 bu and a $4.00 season-average price.
- PLC. Rate = $4.34 − $4.00 = $0.34/bu. Per base acre: $0.34 × 150 bu PLC yield × 85% = $43.35.
- ARC-CO. Benchmark revenue = 180 bu × $4.96 = $892.80. Guarantee (90%) = $803.52. Actual revenue = 162 bu × $4.00 = $648.00. Shortfall $155.52, capped at 12% of benchmark ($107.14): $107.14 per acre before the 85% factor; $91.07 per base acre.
- On 100 base acres: PLC $4,335, ARC-CO $9,107, before the 5.7% sequestration cut.
- Where they cross at a 162 bu county yield: PLC pays more at $3.62 or lower. ARC-CO pays more from $3.63 to $4.95. Neither pays at $4.96 or higher.
What should I check before I sign?
- Each crop, each farm number. You elect ARC-CO or PLC crop by crop on each FSA farm. Run them one at a time.
- Rented ground. On a cash lease the tenant gets the payment unless agreed otherwise. On a share lease landlord and tenant split it by share and both sign.
- 10 base acres. A farm with 10 or fewer total base acres gets no payment, unless the producer is socially disadvantaged, limited resource, a veteran or a beginning farmer.
- Income rule. The $900,000 average adjusted gross income limit still applies to ARC and PLC. The new exception for those with 75% of gross income from farming covers certain conservation and disaster programs, not ARC or PLC.
- Payment limit. Per person across all crops and farms, not per farm. Sequestration (5.7% lately) comes off before the limit.
- ARC-IC (individual coverage, whole farm) also exists. This tool does not model it.
Where do I find my county’s ARC-CO benchmark yield?
FSA’s official ARC-CO benchmark yields for program year 2026 (FSA file as of Jan 16, 2026) cover 2,772 counties. FSA’s benchmark is the Olympic average of the county’s five most recent yields (2020 to 2024 for 2026), with low years raised to 80% of the county T-yield and each year trend-adjusted. FSA has not posted 2027 benchmarks; building them needs RMA’s 2027 trend factors, which are not out, so the 2027 view uses FSA’s official 2026 benchmark, labeled. Counties FSA does not list get no page here: ask the county office for “the ARC-CO benchmark yield for my county, crop and practice” or check FSA’s program data.
Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming
How the ARC or PLC verdict is figured
The verdict compares what each program is expected to pay per base acre across past years (2015 to 2025, each year with a final USDA price), not one guess.
- 2026 price, every crop. Start: USDA’s projected 2026/27 season-average price (USDA WASDE, Oct 9, 2026): $4.70 corn, $12.00 soybeans, $6.30 wheat. Corn and soybean spread: how far each past year’s final season-average price (NASS) ended from that October’s futures average (RMA’s harvest price, on our price tracker), scaled to average 1: the uncertainty left in October.
- Second start, as a check. Corn $4.97 (Dec '26 October average so far, $5.01 over 5 of 22 trading days, × 0.991, the 2015 to 2025 average of final MYA / October futures); soybeans $12.84 (Nov '26 October average so far, $12.89 over 5 of 22 trading days, × 0.996, the 2015 to 2025 average of final MYA / October futures). Where USDA’s start and this one disagree on which program leads, or on a clear pick, a clear pick drops to Leans. A study of corn found WASDE and futures-based forecasts about equally accurate (Hoffman, Etienne, Irwin, Colino and Toasa (2015), Forecast performance of WASDE price projections for U.S. corn).
- 2026 spread for wheat and the smaller crops. None of them has its own October futures history on file. Wheat uses its own year-to-year price changes, scaled to average 1 and then to the size of corn’s October swings (standard deviation 7.3%). The smaller crops have too few years in FSA’s price tables, so they use corn’s October swings. Because the spread is borrowed, their call stops at Leans.
- 2026 county yield. The 2026 crop is mostly harvested, so every scenario year uses a normal crop: the county’s FSA benchmark yield. Only the price moves. In the calculator, type the county yield if you know it and the 2026 call uses it.
- 2027 price, corn and soybeans. Start: Dec 2027 corn futures $5.12 (Oct 9, 2026) × 0.959, the 2011 to 2025 average of final MYA / February futures: $4.91 corn; soybeans Nov 2027 soybean futures $12.45 (Oct 9, 2026) × 0.978, the 2011 to 2025 average of final MYA / February futures: $12.17. Spread: each past year’s change in the final season-average price, scaled to average 1, because 2027 is a whole year out.
- 2027, wheat and every other crop. No 2027 price we can check against past years (no futures history on file for them), so no 2027 call. Reusing the 2026 price would only repeat the 2026 answer. Type a 2027 price in the calculator to see the dollars.
- 2027 county yield. For the same year as the price, the county’s yield against its benchmark, from FSA’s own files. 2015 to 2020: the trend-adjusted yield (county yield or 80% of T-yield) in the newest FSA file that lists it (2015 from the program year 2021 file, 2016 from the program year 2022 file, 2017 from the program year 2023 file, 2018 from the program year 2024 file, 2019 from the program year 2025 file, 2020 from the program year 2026 file), divided by that file’s benchmark; 2021 to 2025: FSA’s actual county yield in that year’s own program year file, with no 80% plug and no trend adjustment, divided by that year’s benchmark, whose five-year window leaves the year out. A county with fewer than 8 years uses its state’s average for that crop and practice (at least 3 counties a year).
- The call. With at least 8 years: Pick when the expected gap is more than t times its standard error (t from Student’s t for the number of years, 2.26 for 10 and 2.23 for 11), at least $2.00 per base acre, and the leading program paid more in at least 3 of the years; Leans when the gap is at least $3.00 and at least one standard error, and the leader paid more in at least 3 years; otherwise close, either one. When both expected payments round to $0: neither expected to pay. Expected dollars are always shown beside the call.
- Typical farm (county pages): FSA’s county average PLC yield and FSA’s official benchmark. That PLC yield covers all practices, irrigated and not, so the irrigated answer is labeled as using it. Where it is above a practice’s benchmark, no typical answer is given for that practice. The county page’s Lower and Higher buttons use 85% and 115% of it.
Scenario prices (11 years)
| Year | 2026 corn | 2026 soybeans | 2026 wheat | 2027 corn | 2027 soybeans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $4.47 | $12.10 | $5.92 | $4.68 | $10.65 |
| 2016 | $4.56 | $11.70 | $5.88 | $4.46 | $12.72 |
| 2017 | $4.56 | $11.53 | $6.71 | $4.79 | $11.84 |
| 2018 | $4.65 | $11.88 | $6.47 | $5.15 | $10.93 |
| 2019 | $4.33 | $11.16 | $6.06 | $4.73 | $12.15 |
| 2020 | $5.38 | $12.33 | $6.49 | $6.10 | $15.15 |
| 2021 | $5.30 | $13.03 | $7.31 | $6.35 | $14.81 |
| 2022 | $4.52 | $12.39 | $6.60 | $5.23 | $12.84 |
| 2023 | $4.42 | $11.64 | $5.86 | $3.34 | $10.50 |
| 2024 | $4.83 | $12.01 | $5.87 | $4.47 | $9.70 |
| 2025 | $4.67 | $12.22 | $6.12 | $4.70 | $12.62 |
Season-average price used in each scenario year, $/bu.
Typical-farm verdicts, all counties
| Year, crop | Pick PLC | Leans PLC | Close | Leans ARC-CO | Pick ARC-CO | Neither pays | Too few years | No 2027 price | Waiting on USDA | No typical farm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 corn | 0 | 0 | 446 | 2,521 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 296 |
| 2026 soybeans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,478 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 220 |
| 2026 wheat | 0 | 6 | 1,400 | 1,057 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 311 |
| 2027 corn | 0 | 0 | 1,469 | 1,295 | 203 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 296 |
| 2027 soybeans | 0 | 0 | 552 | 1,364 | 559 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 220 |
| 2027 wheat | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,463 | 0 | 311 |
County and practice combinations. Your own PLC yield moves the answer; run it.
What each program paid, nationally, per base acre
| Year | Crop | ERP | Final MYA | PLC rate | PLC $/base ac | ARC-CO $/base ac |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Corn | $3.70 | $3.56 | $0.14 | $17.03 | not in our files |
| 2019 | Soybeans | $8.40 | $8.57 | none | none | not in our files |
| 2019 | Wheat | $5.50 | $4.58 | $0.92 | $32.71 | not in our files |
| 2020 | Corn | $3.70 | $4.53 | none | none | not in our files |
| 2020 | Soybeans | $8.40 | $10.80 | none | none | not in our files |
| 2020 | Wheat | $5.50 | $5.05 | $0.45 | $16.00 | not in our files |
| 2021 | Corn | $3.70 | $6.00 | none | none | $0.64 |
| 2021 | Soybeans | $8.40 | $13.30 | none | none | $0.34 |
| 2021 | Wheat | $5.50 | $7.63 | none | none | $3.74 |
| 2022 | Corn | $3.70 | $6.54 | none | none | $1.65 |
| 2022 | Soybeans | $8.40 | $14.20 | none | none | $0.88 |
| 2022 | Wheat | $5.50 | $8.83 | none | none | $2.17 |
| 2023 | Corn | $3.70 | $4.55 | none | none | $2.52 |
| 2023 | Soybeans | $8.40 | $12.40 | none | none | $1.54 |
| 2023 | Wheat | $5.50 | $6.96 | none | none | $3.64 |
| 2024 | Corn | $4.01 | $4.24 | none | none | $17.84 |
| 2024 | Soybeans | $9.26 | $10.00 | none | none | $12.99 |
| 2024 | Wheat | $5.50 | $5.52 | none | none | $5.27 |
| 2025 | Corn | $4.42 | $4.16 | $0.26 | $31.62 | $45.96 |
| 2025 | Soybeans | $10.71 | $10.50 | $0.21 | $7.30 | $24.76 |
| 2025 | Wheat | $6.35 | $5.06 | $1.29 | $45.87 | $24.86 |
PLC: ERP minus the final season-average price (NASS), never below the loan rate, times FSA’s 2025 national average PLC yield (corn 143.1, soybeans 40.9, wheat 41.8 bu, weighted by enrolled base) times 85%. 2019 to 2024 use the 2018 law (statutory $3.70, $8.40, $5.50; 85% escalator); 2025 the 2025 law. ARC-CO: FSA’s county payment rates from its program year files (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025), irrigated and non-irrigated averaged equally where FSA splits a county, weighted by each county’s enrolled base, times 85%. Every county rate in those files was recomputed from the file’s own yields and prices and matched FSA’s to the cent (92,577 rows). Not in our files: 2019, 2020. National averages hide wide county differences.
Questions farmers ask
Should I pick ARC or PLC for 2026 or 2027?
It comes down to where the season-average price lands and how your county yields. PLC pays when the national price ends below the effective reference price (2027 est.: $4.34 corn, $10.62 soybeans, $6.35 wheat). ARC-CO pays when county revenue falls below 90% of its benchmark, so it helps more when the county yield drops while the price holds. The calculator gives a verdict for your farm (pick, leans, or close, either one) with the expected payment per base acre for each, figured across past years' prices and your county's yields.
What is the 2027 effective reference price for corn?
$4.34 per bushel by our math from final USDA prices (est.): 88% of the 2021 to 2025 Olympic average season-average price, above the $4.10 statutory price. Soybeans $10.62, wheat $6.35. For 2026 the figures are $4.42, $10.71 and $6.35, matching published FSA-based figures. FSA publishes the official 2027 numbers.
When is the ARC/PLC deadline?
2026: September 16 to December 11, 2026. 2027: November 2, 2026 to March 15, 2027. The 2026 deadline comes first.
What happens if I don't enroll?
For 2026, a farm with no election by December 11, 2026 keeps its 2025 election but gets no 2026 payment. Keeping your old choice still takes a signed contract.
Can I sign a multi-year contract?
Yes, for 2026 through 2031. It stays in force while the farm's records and producers do not change. The 2026 election itself must be unanimous among the producers on the farm; from 2027 the election can be changed crop by crop in each year's signup.
How is ARC-CO paid?
ARC-CO compares county revenue (county yield times the higher of the national season-average price or the loan rate) with 90% of the county benchmark revenue. The shortfall is paid, up to 12% of benchmark revenue, on 85% of your base acres. A farm with irrigated and non-irrigated county figures is weighted by its historical irrigated percentage.
Can I buy SCO if I pick ARC?
Under the 2025 law, yes: SCO is no longer tied to your ARC or PLC election. For 2026 the coverage up to 90% is sold as ECO; SCO itself goes to 90% in 2027. Confirm the details for your crop with your crop insurance agent.
Who gets the payment on rented ground?
On a cash lease the tenant gets the ARC or PLC payment unless the two agree otherwise. On a share lease the landlord and tenant split it by their shares, and both sign the contract.
When do the payments come?
After the marketing year ends and USDA publishes the season-average price: after October 1, 2027 for 2026 crops and after October 1, 2028 for 2027 crops.
What is the ARC/PLC payment limit?
$155,000 per person or legal entity in the 2025 law, adjusted for inflation; USDA put 2025 at $160,000. The 2026 and 2027 figures are not out. The limit is per person across all crops and farms.
This is an estimate, not a USDA determination. Payments depend on FSA’s official yields, prices and your farm records. Read FSA’s ARC/PLC page, its program data, or find your county FSA office. Dollars are before the 5.7% sequestration cut. Run an extension office or co-op site? Embed the calculator.
Sources
- 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)
- 7 CFR 1412.54, leases and division of payment (eCFR)
- USDA ERS, Title I crop commodity program provisions
- FSA ARC and PLC fact sheet, Sept 2025
- FSA ARC and PLC fact sheet, Dec 2024 (irrigated weighting)
- FSA, 2025 national average loan rates
- FSA, 2026 marketing assistance loan rates (Apr 8, 2026)
- FSA, ARC/PLC contract appendix (benchmark yield rules)
- farmdoc daily, Feb 2024 (2024 ERPs and benchmark prices)
- farmdoc daily, Jul 2025 (2025 law, commodity title)
- farmdoc daily, Jul 2025 (new base acre provisions)
- Hoffman, Etienne, Irwin, Colino and Toasa (2015), Forecast performance of WASDE price projections for U.S. corn
- USDA WASDE-676, Oct 9, 2026
- American Farm Bureau Market Intel (2026 ERPs and benchmark prices)
- Alabama Cooperative Extension, Title I program changes
- DTN, Sept 2, 2026: 2025 payment limit $160,000
- Center for Commercial Agriculture: LLC and S corp payment limits
- Iowa State CALT: new payment limitation and eligibility rules
- Farm CPA Report, sequestration and the 2025 limit
- Texas A&M AgriLife, lease payment structures
- RMA bulletin MGR-25-006 (2025 law crop insurance changes)
- Sen. Hoeven: RMA implements 2025 law (ECO 90% for 2026)
- RMA, 2027 SCO endorsement summary of changes
- USDA, Sept 15, 2026: 2026 and 2027 ARC/PLC enrollment
- DTN, Sept 17, 2026: USDA opens ARC/PLC enrollment
- Colorado Wheat, 2025 law provisions table
- 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)
- USDA NASS Quick Stats (season-average prices)
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