Farm Bill Program election informational meetings offered by UW-Madison Division of Extension

Contact: Trisha Wagner UW-Extension, Farm Management Program, Outreach Program Manager, trisha.wagner@wisc.edu

Photo credit: Sevie Kenyon/UW-Madison CALS

University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension will offer informational meetings across the state for farmers interested in learning about the program election for Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) under the 2018 USDA Farm Bill.

USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced signup is underway for the PLC and ARC Program election. The FSA offices administer the program signup and have announced the signup deadline is March 15, 2020, for crop years 2019 and 2020. Many farmers will have questions regarding which program will function best for their farm. Extension has created information and resources to help farmers make informed decisions about the program they will elect for their farm

“There are differences in the two elections that farmers should be aware of,” said Paul Mitchell, UW-Madison ag and applied economics professor and Extension specialist. “ARC will depend on county yields and national prices, while PLC will offer a price floor at the national level, $3.70 for corn, $8.40 for soybeans.”  Mitchell has assembled a variety of resources to help farmers (and those working with farmers) make their decisions regarding signup for the commodity support programs ARC and PLC at https://aae.wisc.edu/pdmitchell/extension/arc-plc-signup/

This year, farmers may want to examine Individual ARC (ARC-IC), as it may make sense for them on some of their FSA farms. In addition to electing a program, farmers will also be able to update their yield information for the program. In some cases, landlords will be required to sign program documents. As a result, farmers may want to connect with FSA to find out if they need to do this, and then start the process of connecting with their landlords.

Informational meetings offered by county Extension educators across the state this winter will provide an overview of the 2018 Farm Bill PLC/ARC program election and address the following information for farmers considering the program:

  • Overview of 2018 Farm Bill PLC and ARC programs
  • PLC/ARC election considerations
  • Decision making tool & expected return calculations

For information about Extension informational program locations, dates and registration for on the Farm Bill PLC/ARC program please visit: https://farms.extension.wisc.edu/events/ Registration is recommended for meeting materials.