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USDA’s
Farm Service Agency (FSA) has announced that producers who chose coverage from
the safety net programs established by the 2014 Farm Bill, known as the
Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs, can
begin visiting FSA county offices starting Dec. 7, 2015, to sign contracts to
enroll in coverage for 2016. The enrollment period will continue until Aug. 1,
2016.
Although
the choice between ARC and PLC is completed and remains in effect through 2018,
producers must still enroll their farm by signing a contract each year to
receive coverage.
Producers
are encouraged to contact their local FSA office to schedule an appointment to
enroll. If a farm is not enrolled during the 2016 enrollment period, producers
on that farm will not be eligible for financial assistance from the ARC or PLC
programs should crop prices or farm revenues fall below the historical price or
revenue benchmarks established by the program.
The
two programs were authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and offer a safety net to
agricultural producers when there is a substantial drop in prices or revenues
for covered commodities. Covered commodities include
barley, canola, large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain
sorghum, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, long grain
rice, medium grain rice (which includes short grain and sweet rice), safflower
seed, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat. Upland cotton is no longer a
covered commodity. For more details regarding these programs, go to www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc.
For
more information, producers are encouraged to visit their local FSA office. To
find a local FSA office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.
Questions?
Please contact your local FSA Office.
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