Agricultural producers who have yet to enroll in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2022 crop year, are being reminded Tuesday, March 15, 2022 is the deadline to sign a contract. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers these two safety net programs to provide income support to farmers experiencing substantial declines in crop prices or revenues.
Producers can elect coverage and enroll in ARC-County or PLC, which are both crop by crop, or ARC-Individual, which is for the entire farm. And while election changes for 2022 are optional, producers must enroll through a signed contract each year. Also, if a producer has a multi-year contract on the farm and makes an election change for 2022, it will be necessary to sign a new contract.?
If an election is not submitted by the March 15th deadline, the election remains the same as the 2021 election for crops on the farm.?Farm owners cannot enroll in either program unless they have a share interest in the crop.?Producers who do not complete enrollment by the deadline will not be enrolled in ARC or PLC for the 2022 crop year and will not receive a payment if triggered.
Producers are eligible to enroll farms with base acres for the various commodities which include corn, grain sorghum, peanuts, seed cotton, soybeans and wheat. For more information, visit the?ARC and PLC webpage.
There are various other deadlines also nearing, including the new Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP). Producers who have coverage under most crop insurance policies are eligible for a premium if they planted cover crops during this crop year. Producers must file a Report of Acreage form (FSA-578) for cover crops with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) by March 15, 2022 to receive the benefit.
Plus, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) General Signup ends this Friday, Mar 11th. General CRP helps producers and landowners establish long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees, to control soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat on cropland.?
For more information on any of these programs contact your local?USDA Service Center.?
