 Enrollment Deadline is March 15, 2024.
USDF announced that agricultural producers can now enroll in the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2024 crop year. Producers can enroll and make election changes for the 2024 crop year starting December 18, 2023. The deadline to complete enrollment and any election change is March 15, 2024.
On November 16, 2023, President Biden signed into law H.R. 6363, the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024 (Pub. L. 118-22), which extended the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-334), more commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill, through September 30, 2024. This extension allows authorized programs, including ARC and PLC, to continue operating.
2024 Elections and Enrollment
Producers can elect coverage and enroll in ARC-County (ARC-CO) or PLC, which provide crop-by-crop protection, or ARC-Individual (ARC-IC), which protects the entire farm. Although election changes for 2024 are optional, producers must enroll through a signed contract each year. Also, if a producer has a multi-year contract on the farm it will continue for 2024 unless an election change is made.
If producers do not submit their election revision by the March 15, 2024, deadline, their election remains the same as their 2023 election for commodities on the farm. Farm owners cannot enroll in either program unless they have a share interest in the cropland.
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, safflower seed, seed cotton, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat.
2022 Crop Year Payments
This fall, FSA issued payments totaling more than $267 million to agricultural producers who enrolled in the 2022 ARC-CO option and the ARC ARC-IC option for covered commodities that triggered a payment. Payments through the PLC option did not trigger for the 2022 crop year.
ARC and PLC payments for a given crop year are paid out the following fall to allow actual county yields and the Market Year Average prices to be finalized. These payments help mitigate fluctuations in either revenue or prices for certain crops. Payments for crops that may trigger for the 2023 crop year will be issued in the fall of 2024.
Crop Insurance Considerations
ARC and PLC are part of a broader USDA safety net that also includes crop insurance and marketing assistance loans.
Producers are reminded that ARC and PLC elections and enrollments can impact eligibility for some crop insurance products.
Producers on farms with a PLC election can purchase Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) through their Approved Insurance Provider; however, producers on farms where ARC is the election are ineligible for SCO on their planted acres for that crop on that farm.
Unlike SCO, the Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) is unaffected by an ARC election. Producers may add ECO regardless of the farm program election.
Web-Based Decision Tools
Many universities offer web-based decision tools to help producers make informed, educated decisions using crop data specific to their respective farming operations. Producers are encouraged to use the tool of their choice to support their ARC and PLC elections.
More Information
For more information on ARC and PLC, producers can visit the ARC and PLC webpage or contact their local USDA Service Center. Producers can also make elections and complete enrollment online with level 2 eAuth.
 Deadline for Calendar Year 2023 Applications is January 31, 2024
(USDA) reminds specialty crop growers that assistance is available for producers who incur eligible on-farm food safety program expenses to obtain or renew a food safety certification through the Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops (FSCSC) program. Producers can apply for assistance on their calendar year 2023 expenses through January 31, 2024.
Program Details
FSCSC assists specialty crop operations that incurred eligible on-farm food safety certification and related expenses pertaining to obtaining or renewing a food safety certification in calendar year 2023. FSCSC covers a percentage of the specialty crop operation’s cost of obtaining or renewing its certification, as well as a portion of related expenses.
To be eligible for FSCSC, the applicant must be a specialty crop operation; meet the definition of a small business or very small business; and have paid eligible expenses related to the 2023 certification.
Specialty crop operations may receive assistance for the following costs:
- Developing a food safety plan for first-time food safety certification.
- Maintaining or updating an existing food safety plan.
- Food safety certification.
- Certification upload fees.
- Microbiological testing for products, soil amendments and water.
- Training
FSCSC payments are calculated separately for each category of eligible costs. A higher payment rate has been set for socially disadvantaged, limited resource, beginning and veteran farmers and ranchers. Details about the payment rates and limitations can be found at farmers.gov/food-safety.
Applying for Assistance
The FSCSC application period for 2023 closes January 31, 2024. FSA will issue payments after the application period closes. If calculated payments exceed the amount of available funding, payments will be prorated.
Interested specialty crop producers can apply by completing the FSA-888, Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops Program (FSCSC) application. The application, along with other required documents, can be submitted to the FSA office at any USDA Service Center nationwide by mail, fax, hand delivery or via electronic means.
Specialty crop producers can also call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to assist. Visit farmers.gov/food-safety for additional program details, eligibility information and forms needed to apply.
Apply by January 13, 2024
USDA continues to accept applications for assistance through the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program for Indiana farmers and forest landowners who experienced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs prior to January 2021. The application process will close on January 13, 2024. Borrowers have the option to apply for assistance online via 22007apply.gov or through a paper-based form.
Details about the program, including an application and e-filing portal, are available at 22007apply.gov. The website includes an English and Spanish language application that applicants can download or submit via an e-filing portal, information on how to obtain technical assistance in-person or virtually, and additional resources and details about the program.
Applicants can also call a free call center at 1-800-721-0970 or visit one of several dozen brick-and-mortar offices the program has set up around the country. Locations are provided on the program website and vendors will update the local events schedule with more information as it becomes available.
Several entities are involved in the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program, with varying roles and responsibilities. The National Administrator and Regional Hubs are responsible for conducting outreach, assisting with the financial assistance application process, processing applications, managing program call centers, and operating local offices. Additional outreach and application support is provided by trusted community groups. These groups include AgrAbility, Farmer Veteran Coalition, Farmers’ Legal Action Group, Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Intertribal Agriculture Council, Land Loss Prevention Program, National Young Farmers Coalition, and Rural Coalition.
It is important to note that filing an application is FREE and does not require a lawyer.
If you want to get weekly updates on the program’s events and progress, you can go to 22007apply.gov, and subscribe to a weekly newsletter.
From beef to dairy to pork…being a livestock producer comes with inherently unique and difficult challenges, and you want to make sure you know what options are available to best protect your operation. Buying a livestock insurance policy is one risk management option. Producers should always carefully consider how a policy will work in conjunction with their other risk management strategies to insure the best possible outcomes.
To help livestock producers know what insurance resources are out there and answer any questions, RMA is hosting a series of workshops for producers to learn about updates and improvements to several livestock risk management products. The improvements and expansions are based on feedback from America’s livestock producers.
Topics for RMA’s Livestock Roadshow sessions include:
- Annual Forage
- Dairy Revenue Protection
- Livestock Gross Margin
- Livestock Risk Protection
- Pasture, Rangeland and Forage
- Weaned Calf Risk Protection
A full listing of upcoming roadshow events and information on how to participate is available on the Livestock Roadshow webpage. Additionally, all producers can subscribe for email messages from RMA.
Virtual Sessions will be held:
January 8, 2024 at 1:00 pm eastern (registration details pending)
January 17, 2024 at 10:00 pm eastern (registration details pending)
Visit RMA's Livestock Roadshow webpage for registration details.
The end of the calendar year marks important decisions for food and farm businesses. This online session will address important financial planning considerations, as well as sharing information on open and upcoming grants and program signup deadlines.
This online Zoom webinar will focus on End of Year Planning, Funding Opportunities and Crop Insurance.
DATE & TIME
Tuesday, December 19 at 3:00 pm EST
REGISTER TODAY
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1eDtKqmPR1e5d5dNo120HQ
USDA is accepting applications for the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program, which aims to encourage students at 1890 land-grant universities to pursue food and agriculture career paths. The application deadline is March 1, 2024.
Young people around the country are invited to complete and submit their applications online through an e-application. Administered through USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE), the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program is available to eligible high school seniors entering their freshman year of college as well as rising college sophomores and juniors.
The USDA 1890 National Scholars Program is a partnership between USDA and the 19 historically Black land-grant universities that were established in the Morrill Land Grand Act of 1890. USDA partners with these 1890 universities to provide scholarship recipients with full tuition, fees, books, and room and board. Scholarship recipients attend one of the 1890 universities and pursue degrees in agriculture, food, natural resource sciences, or related academic disciplines. The scholarship also includes work experience at USDA through summer internships. Scholars accepted into the program are eligible for noncompetitive conversion to a permanent appointment with USDA upon successful completion of their degree requirements by the end of the agreement period. The USDA 1890 National Scholars Program awarded 100 scholarships in the 2023 cohort of 1890 Scholars.
Learn more and apply online at USDA 1890 National Scholars Program. For more information, contact partnerships@usda.gov.
USDA Rural Development Indiana State Director Dr. Terry Goodin announced that the agency is seeking applicants for their Water and Waste Disposal Loan Guarantees. The program helps private lenders provide affordable financing to qualified borrowers to improve their access to clean, reliable water and waste disposal systems for households and businesses in rural Hoosier areas.
This program is open to Hoosier rural areas with populations of 50,000 residents or less, which excludes certain populations pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(H)*, based on the latest decennial census of the United States and not in the urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to that city or town.
Eligible borrowers include public bodies, federally-recognized Tribes, and non-profit businesses. Additional entities may be eligible for other loan guarantees under the OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative.
To find out more information and start the application process, go to rd.usda.gov/programs-services/water-environmental-programs/water-waste-disposal-loan-guarantees. Learn more about Water and Environmental programs by visiting rd.usda.gov/programs-services/water-environmental-programs.
Interested applicants can also contact the following USDA Rural Development Community Programs Directors:
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit rd.usda.gov/in.
To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
Travel stipend funds are available again this year for farmers impacted by disability who would like to attend the 2024 AgrAbility National Training Workshop (NTW) in Atlanta, GA, March 25-28, 2024.
If you or anyone you know is a farmer or agricultural worker with a disability who could benefit from attending this year's NTW, please fill out or have them fill out the Google Form: “NTW Travel Stipend Form” online at Farmer Stipend Form Online (preferred method) OR, send in the attached NTW Travel Stipend Form.
The deadline to submit your stipend application is January 10, 2024. If stipend funds run short for the number of applicants, stipends will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Stipend recipients will be announced no later than January 31, 2024.
2023 Indiana FSA Important Deadline Dates
2024 Indiana FSA Important Deadline Dates
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