Persistent rain has kept combines parked across much of Iowa, leaving farmers waiting for fields to dry out and harvest to get moving. While they wait, there is another decision to make involving the 2026 crop.
USDA has opened enrollment for the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs. USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Richard Fordyce says the signup period opened September 16 and runs through December 11.
The timing is unusual because ARC and PLC elections are typically made much earlier. This year’s delay is tied to changes that added 30 million base acres eligible to participate in the programs.
USDA had to review planting history from 2019 through 2023 to determine the universe of acres that could qualify. Fordyce says the final number came in slightly above the 30 million-acre limit, requiring a 3.69 percent prorated reduction nationwide.
That process pushed the 2026 signup into the latter part of the growing season. For farmers, it also raises an obvious question: what happens when producers are making their ARC and PLC elections after weather and other conditions have already affected the crop?
Fordyce says the delayed enrollment will not prevent those conditions from being reflected when the 2026 program year is ultimately calculated.
The unusual timing also means farmers are making their elections with considerably more information about the crop than they would normally have. Fordyce says that does not mean all of the answers are known, however. Much of the harvest remains ahead, final yields are still uncertain, and the marketing year will ultimately determine the prices used in calculating potential payments.
For Iowa farmers, the immediate concern is making sure the unusual timing does not allow the signup deadline to slip through the cracks. Producers have until December 11 to make their ARC or PLC election and complete enrollment for the 2026 crop.
The post Fordyce explains unusual ARC and PLC signup appeared first on Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
