The deadline to sign up for two coverage programs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is Tuesday, June 30. Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for 2020 will need to do so with their local FSA office before the signup period ends.
“The Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs are critical safety-net programs for farmers, helping producers weather market distortions resulting from natural disasters, trade disruptions and, this year, a pandemic,” FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce said in a press release. “Contact your FSA county office today to complete enrollment before June 30. This can be done in concert with filing your acreage report and applying for other FSA programs.”
As of June 11, more than 1.4 million ARC and PLC contracts have been signed by producers for the 2020 crop year. The current enrollment figure represents 89 percent of the total expected number of signups. Last year saw a record level of enrollment with 1.77 million contracts signed for the 2019 crop year, representing 107 percent of the number of contracts signed over a five-year average. FSA has been sending out reminders to industry members who had not yet signed up for ARC or PLC for 2020. Producers of a variety of commodities are eligible for the coverage programs, including seed cotton, wheat, grain sorghum, and various varieties of rice.
Detailed information about ARC and PLC is available through USDA’s online portal. USDA Service Centers such as FSA county offices remain open for business by phone appointment. Signed contracts can be mailed or emailed back to FSA. Arrangements can also be made to drop off signed contracts at local FSA offices. Failure to complete the enrollment process by the close of business on June 30 will be ineligible for any payments for their crop in the event that payments are triggered.
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