For the first time since the 2014 farm bill was implemented, the USDA is giving farmers the option of changing enrollment between the insurance-like Agriculture Risk Coverage and the traditionally designed Price Loss Coverage subsidies. Analysts expect a stampede to PLC by corn, soybean, and wheat growers because it is expected to offer higher per-acre payments during a period of comparatively low commodity prices.
Enrollment began on Tuesday. “The election applies to both the 2019 and 2020 crop years,” said the USDA, although it set different deadlines for completing the paperwork: March 15, 2020, for this year’s crops and June 30, 2020, for the new crop year. Signup for 2020 crops begins on Oct. 7, and if producers wait until then, they are “afforded the opportunity to enroll in either program for both 2019 and 2020 during the same office visit.”
Beginning in 2021, the USDA will allow farmers an annual choice between ARC and PLC for the life of the five-year farm bill.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said, “Our staff met another major farm bill implementation goal” by scheduling the farm program signups.