Peanut farmers, cotton farmers, and others are trying to figure out exactly what they’re going to plant this year.
One thing we’ve learned is the PLC program, or Price Loss Coverage, or the ARC program put on by the government, they are decoupled from production. Both are determined by the farm’s base acres and the payment yield. Both base and payment yields are historical averages as certified by the farmer and reported to your farm service agency in your county.
For example, a farm could plant zero acres this year due to rotation and still receive your PLC program if the farm has a base. So if you’ve got a farm base, be sure to check it out and find out how much. PLC, if any, is not calculated based on your acres planted.
If there’s a payment, it receives 85% of the base acres and the payment yield, so acres planted or not planted in peanuts have nothing to do with the PLC payment. So you need to plant for the market. If there’s a PLC payment and the farm has a peanut base, you get that money regardless of how much or how little you plant, and that payment will come in October based on the average price last year.
So check out and get registered for your PLC payment at the Farm Service Agency.
Audio Reporting by Tyron Spearman for Southeast AgNet.