Agricultural Producers Have Until April 15 to Enroll in USDA’s Key Commodity Safety Net Programs for the 2025 Crop Year
In an effort to remind agricultural producers about USDA Farm Service Agency’s Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) enrollment deadline for the 2025 crop year. I am sharing a toolkit that includes talking points, a newsletter article, suggested social media posts and corresponding graphic images.
Meeting the deadline is critical. If producers fail to complete enrollment by the April 15 deadline, they will be ineligible to receive payment for the 2025 crop year should a covered commodity payment trigger for ARC and/or PLC.
We need your help to spread the word to eligible producers. This toolkit includes:
- Talking Points
- Newsletter Article
- Social Media Suggestions
- Graphics (attached)
If you have any questions, please contact Angie Stuehrenberg at angie.stuehrenberg@usda.gov.
Talking Points
- FSA announced the 2025 enrollment periods for key safety-net programs Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) beginning on January 21 to April 15.
- Our safety-net programs provide critical financial protections against commodity market volatilities for many American farmers, so don’t delay enrollment.
- If you’re getting coverage through the Agriculture Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage programs, avoid the rush and contact your local FSA office for an appointment. Even if you are not changing your program election for 2025, you still need to sign a contract to enroll.
- ARC and PLC provide financial protections to farmers from substantial drops in crop prices or revenues and are vital economic safety nets for most American farms.
- The American Relief Act, 2025 extended many Farm Bill-authorized programs for another year, including ARC and PLC.
- 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 2025 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 2025 unless an election change is made.
- If producers do not submit their election revision by the April 15 deadline, their election remains the same as their 2024 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.
- USDA also reminds producers that ARC and PLC elections and enrollments can impact eligibility for some crop insurance products including Supplemental Coverage Option, Enhanced Coverage Option and, for cotton producers, the Stacked Income Protection Plan (commonly referred to as STAX).
- For more information on ARC and PLC, producers can visit the ARC and PLC webpage or contact their local USDA Service Center.
Newsletter Article
Title: USDA Reminds Agricultural Producers to Enroll in Key Safety Net Programs by April 15
Body Text: Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2025 crop year have until April 15, 2025, to revise elections and sign contracts. Both safety net programs, delivered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provide vital income support to eligible farmers who experience substantial declines in crop prices or revenues for the 2025 crop year.
Agriculture Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage programs provide excellent risk protection, for market declines, at no cost to the producer. If you haven’t made your program election or signed a contract, please contact your local FSA county office as soon as possible to set an appointment so you don’t miss the April 15 deadline.
Producers can elect coverage and enroll in ARC-County or PLC, which provide crop-by-crop protection, or ARC-Individual, which protects the entire farm. Although election changes for 2025 are optional, producers must enroll, with a signed contract, each year. If a producer has a multi-year contract on the farm, the contract will continue for 2025 unless an election change is made.
If producers do not submit their election revision by the April 15, 2025, deadline, the election remains the same as their 2024 election for eligible commodities on the farm. Also, producers who do not complete enrollment and sign their contract by the deadline will not be enrolled in ARC or PLC for the 2025 year and will not receive a payment if one is triggered. Farm owners can only enroll in these programs if they have a share interest in the commodity.
Producers are eligible to enroll farms with base acres for the following commodities: barley, canola, large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, long grain rice, medium and short grain rice, safflower seed, seed cotton, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat.
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.
Crop Insurance Considerations
Producers are reminded that enrolling in ARC or PLC programs can impact eligibility for some crop insurance products offered by USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA). Producers who elect and enroll in PLC also have the option of purchasing Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) through their Approved Insurance Provider, but producers of covered commodities who elect ARC are ineligible for SCO on their planted acres.
Unlike SCO, RMA’s Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) is unaffected by participating in ARC for the same crop, on the same acres. Producers may elect ECO regardless of their farm program election.
Upland cotton farmers who enroll seed cotton base acres in ARC or PLC are ineligible for the stacked income protection plan, or STAX, on their planted cotton acres.
Optimizing FSA Office Visits
Agricultural producers visiting FSA to complete ARC/PLC elections and enrollment are encouraged to also conduct other FSA program business during their scheduled appointment including completing farm loan applications and applying for the recently announced Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP).
Sign up for ECAP began on March 19, 2025. ECAP, authorized by the American Relief Act, 2025, provides up to $10 billion to agricultural producers for the 2024 crop year. Administered by FSA, ECAP will help agricultural producers mitigate the impacts of increased input costs and falling commodity prices. Congress gave USDA 90 days to implement the program, and that deadline was met. Producers of eligible commodities must submit ECAP applications to their local FSA county office by Aug. 15, 2025. Only one application is required for all ECAP eligible commodities nationwide. ECAP applications can be submitted to FSA in-person, electronically using Box and One-Span, by fax or by applying online at fsa.usda.gov/ecap utilizing a secure login.gov account. For more information, please visit the ECAP website or review the ECAP Fact Sheet.
For more information, visit fsa.usda.gov.
Don’t delay! You have until April 15 to revise elections and enroll in the ARC and PLC programs for the 2025 crop year, and @usdaFSA is here to assist.