WASHINGTON, DC – On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that starting November 1, 2017, farmers with base acres enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage safety net program can enroll for the 2018 crop year. Producers who have enrolled in ARC and PLC programs in the past are reminded that they must still enroll during the 2018 enrollment period. The 2018 enrollment period will end on August 1, 2018.
The opening of the enrollment period comes on the heels of the Farm Service Agency (FSA) issuing nearly $850 million in rice payments for the 2016 crop year. The ARC and PLC programs were established by the 2014 Farm Bill as a means to provide a safety net to producers who suffer a substantial loss in price or revenue. 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.
Go
here for more details regarding these programs or visit your
local FSA office.