ARC and PLC are FSA's main crop safety nets. ARC (Agriculture Risk Coverage) pays when a county's crop revenue falls below its guarantee. PLC (Price Loss Coverage) pays when the national season-average price falls below the crop's reference price. Owners and operators choose one per crop per farm.
PLC by crop, 2026 crop year
| Wheat | effective reference $6.35/bushel · PLC rate $0.05 (projected) |
| Barley | effective reference $5.58/bushel · PLC rate $0 (projected) |
| Oats | effective reference $3.05/bushel · PLC rate $0 (projected) |
| Corn | effective reference $4.42/bushel · PLC rate $0 (projected) |
| Grain Sorghum | effective reference $4.67/bushel · PLC rate $0.17 (projected) |
| Soybeans | effective reference $10.71/bushel · PLC rate $0 (projected) |
Projected rates change as marketing-year prices come in.
Source: FSA ARC/PLC data file · as of Oct 9, 2026
Both pay on a farm's base acres, the historic acres assigned to the farm, not on what you planted this year.
- ARC-County: compares actual county revenue (county yield × national price) with a guarantee based on recent county yields and prices. Bad yields, low prices or both can trigger it.
- PLC: pays the gap between the effective reference price and the higher of the national marketing-year average price or the loan rate, times the farm's PLC yield.
Payments come after the marketing year ends, so payments for a crop year arrive the following fall. FSA publishes projected and final rates, and Cownty shows the county ARC numbers and national PLC rates for the region's main crops.
Recent law changes raised reference prices and changed ARC rules starting with the 2025 crop year. FSA's ARC/PLC page has the current numbers. Enrollment happens each year at the county FSA office. Ask about deadlines and whether your election can change.
Official sources
Rules checked against these pages on Oct 18, 2026. Live numbers update with each data load. Information only: the agency decides. Not affiliated with USDA.