Ag Policy Blog

USDA hasn't released official ARC/PLC payment maps but an analysis released Wednesday by the University of Illinois Farmdoc broke down payments showing ARC-County payments at nearly $2.3 billion for the 2024 crop.

USDA stated in late October that Farm Service Agency offices would resume some core operations, which included starting to distribute 2024 Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage (ARC/PLC) payments.

"For corn and soybeans, ARC-CO payments will occur for counties where final FSA county yields are 2% and 4% below county benchmark yields, respectively. Counties triggering payments on corn and soybean base tend to be outside the Corn Belt states of Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana," the Farmdoc analysis noted.

While ARC-County payments are going out, farmers and lawmakers have highlighted greater concerns about the overall farm economy and are pressing for USDA to create a new aid program with as much as $13 billion that was set aside right before the government shutdown occurred. So far, no details have emerged about that that program could look like.

Breaking down 2024 ARC-County base acre payments by crop:

CORN

More than 70.9 million acres of corn base enrolled in ARC-County will collectively split $1.296 billion, or an average of $18.28 per acre. However, 21.5 million corn base acres enrolled in PLC will not receive any payments for the 2024 crop.

Corn ARC-County payments vary widely by state and county. While payments are shown on a per-state average, in some states such as Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and North Dakota, farmers in just a handful of counties are expected to receive payments. In some states, the number of counties expecting payments is significantly higher.

Farmers in Illinois will receive an average payment of just $2.35 an acre. In Indiana, the average $4.46 per acre. In Iowa, payments average $13.34 per acre. In Nebraska, payments average $19.09 an acre. In Minnesota, however, the average payment of $49.70 per acre with a high concentration in the south-central part of the state.

SOYBEANS

Farmers with 47.38 million base acres enrolled in ARC-County will split $618 million, or an average of $13.04 per acre. For 5.1 million acres enrolled in PLC, there is no payment.

Soybeans reflect the disparity between base acres and planted acres. While planted acres may range from 80-87 million, base acres are closer to 52 million.

Again, ARC-County payments vary widely. In North Dakota, the average payment is $1.89 an acre, while in South Dakota it's $13.97 an acre. Payments in Indiana average $5.76 per acre while in Illinois it is $7.88, and in Iowa it is $9.89 per acre. Payments in Minnesota average $25.71 per acre, while in Ohio payments average $27.73 an acre.

PLC MISSES MARK

The Farmdoc analysis also looks at payments for other crops. Only seed cotton and peanuts see payments under PLC, though the payment rate for peanuts under ARC-County was more than twice the PLC payment.

Under PLC, more than 72 million base acres enrolled for 21 crops received no payment for the 2024 crop. That includes more than 31.6 million wheat base acres. Wheat farmers in ARC-County fared slightly better with 30.7 million acres in the program receiving an average of $5.02 per acre.

Farmdoc's team stated they will look at the estimates for 2025 ARC and PLC programs next week following the release of the November WASDE on Nov. 14.

OBBBA CHANGES

It should be noted that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July raised reference prices under ARC and PLC. For the 2025 crop year, the bill also includes language that USDA will provide farmers with the higher calculated payment rate under ARC or PLC in 2025 regardless of the program they are enrolled in.

For more details, see: https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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