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Ag Economy Barometer: Farmers unsure of ARC or PLC

A majority of farmers surveyed in the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer say they don’t know what crop safety net program they will enroll in.

Farmers have until March 16 to sign up for the USDA’s Ag Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage program under the 2018 Farm Bill.

Purdue University’s Jim Mintert says producers were asked which programs they plan to enroll in for corn for the 2019 and 2020 crop years.

“Almost six out of 10 respondents said that they were uncertain as to what they were going to do so that was probably the biggest take away because time is running short to get those appointments made and get into your FSA office and get signed up for the program,” he says.

But, he says among the farmers who have decided, there is a shift away from the program choice previously made by farmers.

“Under the 2014 Farm Bill, the vast majority of people chose the ARC-County program,” he says. “This time around there’s more interest in the PLC program- 23 percent of the respondents said they plan to sign up for PLC.”

Mintert says the decision is less clear-cut now compared to the 2014 Farm Bill.

“Our analysis would suggest a lot of people are probably going to want to look at the PLC program for corn, but probably look at the ARC-County program for soybeans,” he says. “The fact that you might want to choose different programs depending on the commodity complicates things.”

He says to make matters more complicated; the ARC Individual program will look attractive to farmers who had prevented planting acres.

Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture and Purdue Extension is jointly hosting a Farm Bill Decision Making Workshop on February 12 at the Huntington County Fairgrounds in Indiana.

Mintert says specialists from the FSA state office will discuss the programs. The event is free, but registration is required. 

“Attendees will learn the details of the programs and get some insight with respect to what they want to do on their farm,” he says. “There were a lot of prevented planting acres in Indiana in 2019 and those growers will want to consider the ARC Individual program. So, we’re going to spend some time discussing that and shed some light on when they should make those decisions.”