ARC vs PLC: Which Should You Choose for 2026?

This is a free guide, not financial or legal advice. Program details change. Always verify current information with your local FSA office before making decisions. Help us improve: if something here is wrong or outdated, let us know.

ARC vs PLC for 2026: What USDA's October Projections Show

FSA's October 9, 2026 tables use USDA's projected 2026/27 marketing year average (MYA) prices. They are projections, not final prices: FSA lists June 30, 2027 as the date for the final wheat price and September 30, 2027 for corn, soybeans and sorghum.

How to read it. The PLC rate is the effective reference price minus the higher of the projected price or the loan rate, and it is paid on your PLC yield and 85% of base acres. At these projections PLC would pay $0 on corn and soybeans, and 5 cents a bushel on wheat and 17 cents on sorghum. The ARC-CO trigger price is 90% of FSA's benchmark price; dividing it by the projected price gives the county yield, as a share of the benchmark yield, below which ARC-CO may pay. At $4.70 corn, a county yield about 4% under its benchmark may be enough to trigger ARC-CO; soybeans would need a drop of about 9%; for wheat at $6.30, almost any shortfall may trigger it. These are break-evens, not forecasts.

Timing. The December 11, 2026 deadline falls after most of the 2026 harvest, so you may already have a sense of how your county's yields came in. Prices are less settled: the corn, soybean and sorghum marketing years run through August 31, 2027, and wheat's through May 31, 2027. The 2027 election (November 2, 2026 to March 15, 2027) is the more forward-looking choice. FSA also offers an optional multi-year contract covering 2026 through 2031.

Your county. FSA lists each county's 2026 benchmark yield, benchmark revenue and guarantee in its ARC/PLC program data (2026 ARC-County Benchmark Yields and Revenues, as of January 16, 2026); some counties have separate irrigated and non-irrigated figures. Run your own numbers in the ARC/PLC Payment Calculator or the ARC vs PLC Decision Tool, or ask your FSA county office to run the comparison. This guide does not recommend one program over the other.

Source: FSA Projected 2026 PLC Payment Rates and 2026 ARC-CO Benchmark and Actual Prices, both October 9, 2026. Updated October 29, 2026.

Common Questions

When will 2025 ARC/PLC payments arrive?

FSA's Notice ARCPLC-126 announced the 2025 ARC/PLC payment run for around October 8, 2026, and asked county offices to certify and sign all 2025 payments by October 30, 2026 (Notice ARCPLC-126). FSA estimates about $13.8 billion in gross 2025 payments, before payment-limit reductions and the 5.7% sequestration cut. For 2025 only, FSA pays the higher of ARC-CO or PLC for each crop, whatever the farm elected; ARC-IC farms are handled separately. If yours hasn't arrived, your FSA county office can check its status. For rice, FSA's October 9 tables still showed a projected 2025 price, with the final price scheduled for October 30, 2026.

When would 2026 ARC/PLC payments arrive?

After the 2026 marketing year ends. FSA can make ARC-CO and PLC payments after October 1 following the end of the crop's marketing year (7 CFR 1412.52, 1412.53), so 2026-crop payments may start in October 2027 or later.

What happens if I miss the December 11 deadline?

The farm keeps its 2025 election on file but is not eligible for 2026 ARC or PLC payments. Changing programs is optional; signing the 2026 election and contract is what keeps the farm eligible. You can sign a one-year contract or a multi-year contract covering 2026 through 2031.

What is a PLC payment?

A PLC payment can come when a crop's national marketing year average price falls below its effective reference price. The rate is the effective reference price minus the higher of the MYA price or the loan rate, paid on your farm's PLC yield and 85% of base acres. Example: at the 2025 corn rate of $0.26 a bushel, a 175-bushel PLC yield and 100 base acres, PLC would be $0.26 × 175 × 85 payment acres (85% of 100) = $3,867.50. That is before sequestration.

Where do I find my PLC yield and base acres?

On your farm's FSA-156EZ (Abbreviated 156 Farm Record), which your county office can print. Your PLC yield is not your crop insurance APH. OBBB did not open a new PLC yield update. New base acres added for 2026 take the farm's existing PLC yield for that crop, or the county average if the farm has none.

What ARC Does

ARC-CO (Agriculture Risk Coverage, County Option) can pay when actual county crop revenue drops below a guarantee level. It's a revenue-based program, meaning it accounts for both price and yield.

How ARC-CO Calculates Payments

Benchmark revenue = Olympic average of county yields over the 5 most recent years (dropping the highest and lowest) multiplied by the Olympic average of national marketing year average (MYA) prices over the same period. In any year when the MYA price was below the effective reference price, the effective reference price is used instead.

Guarantee = 90% of benchmark revenue (increased from 86% under OBBB).

Actual revenue = Actual county yield multiplied by the higher of the national marketing year average price or the loan rate.

If actual revenue falls below the guarantee, ARC-CO may pay the difference, up to a maximum payment rate of 12% of benchmark revenue (increased from 10% under OBBB).

Payment is calculated per base acre: (Guarantee minus Actual Revenue) x 85% of base acres.

In some counties FSA keeps separate irrigated and non-irrigated benchmarks, and a farm's ARC-CO figures are weighted by its irrigated acreage history (7 CFR 1412.53(c)). The difference can be the whole payment: in Sumner County, Kansas, FSA's 2025 ARC-CO rate was $32.83 an acre for non-irrigated wheat and $0 for irrigated wheat.

What This Means in Practice

ARC responds to a combination of low prices and low yields at the county level. If your county has a bad yield year, ARC can trigger even if national prices are decent. If national prices drop but your county yield is strong, ARC may or may not trigger depending on whether the combined revenue falls below the guarantee.

The Olympic average smooths out anomalies. One terrible year or one great year won't dramatically shift your benchmark. It moves slowly, which provides stability but also means the guarantee can lag behind recent conditions.

ARC-IC (Individual Coverage)

There is also an ARC-IC option that uses your individual farm's revenue instead of county-level data. ARC-IC applies to all commodities on the farm as a bundle rather than individually. It's less commonly used than ARC-CO because it's harder to trigger and more complex. Most producers should evaluate ARC-CO first.

What PLC Does

PLC (Price Loss Coverage) can pay when the national marketing year average (MYA) price for a commodity drops below the effective reference price. It's a price-based program, triggered purely by national price, not by yield.

How PLC Calculates Payments

Effective reference price = The higher of the statutory reference price or 88% of the Olympic average of the 5 most recent marketing year average prices (capped at 115% of the statutory reference price).

This means PLC's reference price can float upward when prices have been high recently, providing more protection during periods of elevated prices. But it can never go below the statutory floor or above 115% of it.

Payment = (Effective reference price minus the higher of the MYA price or the national loan rate) x PLC payment yield x 85% of base acres.

If the MYA price stays above the effective reference price, no payment. Because the price used can never drop below the loan rate, the most PLC can pay per bushel is the effective reference price minus the loan rate: for 2026 corn, $4.42 − $2.42 = $2.00 per bushel.

What This Means in Practice

PLC is simpler than ARC. It triggers on one variable: the national marketing year average price. If corn's MYA price drops below the effective reference price, every PLC-enrolled corn farm in the country may receive a payment (adjusted by their individual payment yield and base acres). County yield doesn't matter for PLC.

PLC tends to pay in years when commodity prices drop sharply. It doesn't respond to local yield problems. If your county has a drought but national corn prices are high, PLC won't help. That's what crop insurance is for.

Side-by-Side Comparison

2026 Reference Prices and Loan Rates

The effective reference price is the higher of the statutory price or 88% of the Olympic average of the 2020–2024 MYA prices, capped at 115% of the statutory price. For corn, 88% of that Olympic average is $4.42; for wheat it is $5.90, below the $6.35 statutory price, so wheat stays at $6.35.

Worked Example: Corn, One Base Acre

This is an illustrative county, not a real one. FSA publishes the official benchmark yield for your county, and the MYA prices below are assumptions, not a forecast.

• County benchmark yield: 200 bu/acre (assumed)
• Benchmark price: about $5.03/bu, the Olympic average of the 2020–2024 corn MYA prices ($4.53, $6.00, $6.54, $4.55, $4.24), with the $4.42 effective reference price used for 2024 and the high ($6.54) and low ($4.42) dropped: ($4.53 + $6.00 + $4.55) ÷ 3
• Benchmark revenue: 200 × $5.03 = $1,006.00 per acre
• ARC-CO guarantee (90%): $905.40. Payment cap (12%): $120.72
• PLC payment yield: 170 bu/acre (assumed; yours is on your FSA farm record)

In this example ARC-CO pays more in a moderate price dip or a county yield loss, and PLC pays more in a deep price drop because ARC hits its 12% cap. Your county's benchmark, your PLC yield, and the actual MYA price will change the answer. The ARC/PLC Payment Calculator lets you run your own numbers.

When ARC Wins vs. When PLC Wins

ARC Tends to Pay When:

• Your county has a bad yield year (drought, flood, disease) regardless of national price
• There's a moderate dip in both price and yield that individually wouldn't trigger PLC but together push county revenue below the guarantee
• County-level yield variability is high (some years great, some years terrible)

PLC Tends to Pay When:

• National commodity prices drop sharply (a nationwide price crash)
• The price decline is large enough to push the MYA price below the effective reference price
• Your county yield is normal or even above average, but prices tanked

Neither Pays When:

• Prices are strong and yields are normal. In a good year, both programs sit quiet. That's by design.

The General Rule

If your main risk is yield variability in your county (drought-prone areas, irrigated vs. dryland, regions with volatile weather), ARC may provide more frequent payments because it responds to local conditions.

If your main risk is national price crashes (you're in a stable-yield county but worry about commodity markets collapsing), PLC may provide larger payments when prices drop significantly, because its payment rate can widen all the way down to the loan rate while ARC's payment is capped at 12% of benchmark revenue.

In practice, the decision often comes down to the specific commodity. A farmer might choose ARC for one crop and PLC for another on the same farm, because the risk profile differs by commodity.

What Changed Under OBBB

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act strengthened both programs. Here are the changes that affect your 2026 decision:

ARC Improvements

• Guarantee increased: 86% to 90% of benchmark revenue. This means ARC can trigger sooner when county revenue drops.
• Maximum payment rate increased: 10% to 12% of benchmark revenue. When ARC does pay, the payments can be larger.

PLC Improvements

• Higher reference prices. OBBB raised the statutory reference prices (corn to $4.10, soybeans to $10.00, wheat to $6.35) and changed the effective reference price formula to 88% of the Olympic average MYA price. PLC can trigger at higher MYA prices than before.

Both Programs

• Payment limit increased: $125,000 to $155,000 in law, adjusted each year for inflation. With FSA's inflation adjustment, the ARC/PLC limit is $160,000 for the 2025 crop year, $164,000 for 2026, and FSA has set $170,000 for 2027. Peanuts have a separate limit of the same amount.
• Up to 30 million new base acres. FSA has finished allocating them for the 2026 crop year, after a 3.69% across-the-board cut. Check your farm's base acres before you enroll. See New Base Acres below.

For the full OBBB breakdown, see our OBBB guide.

The 2025 Best-of-Both Provision

For the 2025 crop year only, OBBB included a special provision: FSA pays the higher of ARC-CO or PLC for each covered commodity on each farm, whatever the farm elected. Farms enrolled in ARC-IC are handled separately. FSA scheduled the 2025 payment run for around October 8, 2026. FSA reduces these payments by 5.7% for sequestration, and with FSA's inflation adjustment the 2025 ARC/PLC limit is $160,000 per person or legal entity.

This does not apply to 2026. Starting with the 2026 crop year, you must choose ARC or PLC for each commodity on each farm. The best-of-both was a one-year transition provision. Your 2026 election matters.

New Base Acres

OBBB added up to 30 million base acres nationwide, starting with the 2026 crop year, and FSA has finished allocating them. Eligible acres exceeded the 30-million-acre cap, so FSA cut all newly allocated base acres by 3.69% across the board.

FSA's summary of who qualified: farms where covered commodities were planted or prevented from planting in 2019 through 2023, and those acres exceeded the farm's total base acres in effect on September 30, 2024. That includes farms that already had some base acres, not only farms with none.

The landowner review period, for corrections and opt-outs, ended August 31, 2026. Landowners can see their Base Allocation Notification online with a Login.gov account at landmark.usda.gov/OBBBA-Base-Allocation, or get it from the FSA county office.

New base acres count for ARC and PLC from the 2026 crop year, so check your farm's base acres and PLC yields on your farm record before you enroll. New base acres take the farm's existing PLC yield for that crop, or the county average yield if the farm has none.

How to Elect

Step 1: Visit Your FSA Office

Bring your farm number. FSA will show you your base acres, payment yields, and the current effective reference prices for your commodities.

Step 2: Review Your Options by Commodity

You make a separate ARC/PLC choice for each commodity on each farm. You might choose ARC for corn and PLC for soybeans on the same farm, or vice versa. Each commodity has its own risk profile.

Step 3: Look at the Data

FSA can show you historical county yields, MYA prices, and what ARC and PLC would have paid in recent years for your farm. This historical comparison is the best tool for deciding. No one can predict the future, but the pattern of past payments tells you which program has triggered more often for your commodities in your county.

You can also use the ARC/PLC Payment Calculator on this site to run scenarios.

Step 4: Make Your Election

Sign the election and contract at FSA during the election period (September 16 through December 11, 2026). Your choice is locked in for the 2026 crop year. You can sign a one-year contract or a multi-year contract covering 2026 through 2031.

Step 5: Confirm Your Election Before the Deadline

If you don't submit a 2026 election and contract by December 11, 2026, the farm keeps its 2025 election on file but is not eligible for 2026 ARC or PLC payments. Changing programs is optional; signing is what keeps the farm eligible. The OBBB changes shifted the math, so an election that was right in 2024 may not be right for 2026.

SCO and the ARC/PLC Decision

Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) is a crop insurance product that fills the gap between your individual policy and 86% of expected county revenue. Under OBBB, SCO's subsidy increased to 80% (from 65%), making it significantly cheaper.

RMA plans to raise SCO's top coverage level from 86% to 90% for the 2027 crop year. For 2026, ECO can cover the 86% to 90% band with the same 80% premium subsidy (RMA MGR-25-006).

Previously, you could not buy SCO if you elected ARC. Under OBBB, SCO is available regardless of your ARC/PLC election. This changes the calculus. You can now stack ARC + SCO, which wasn't possible before.

Talk to your crop insurance agent about SCO if you haven't already. The decoupling from ARC opens up new combinations.

What Most People Get Wrong

• Not re-evaluating after OBBB. If your election was based on pre-OBBB math, it may no longer fit. Both programs changed, and the answer could be different now.
• Making the same choice for every commodity. Corn and soybeans have different price floors, different yield variability patterns, and different reference prices. A farmer might correctly choose PLC for one and ARC for the other. Evaluate each commodity separately.
• Ignoring county yield data. ARC is county-level. If your county has highly variable yields (drought one year, bumper crop the next), ARC may trigger more often than you'd expect based on national price outlook alone. Look at your county's yield history, not just national price charts.
• Not checking the new base acres. FSA added new base acres to farms that qualified for 2026, after a 3.69% across-the-board cut. Check your farm's base acres and PLC yields on your farm record before you sign, because both programs are calculated on them.
• Not considering SCO. Now that SCO is decoupled from ARC, you have more combinations available. SCO at 80% subsidy is significantly cheaper than before. Factor it into your overall risk management package, not just the ARC/PLC decision in isolation.

What to Do

If you haven't reviewed your ARC/PLC election since OBBB passed: Visit your FSA office. Ask them to show you what ARC and PLC would have paid on your farm in recent years under the new OBBB rules.

If you've been choosing the same program every year without checking: Run the numbers again. The comparison that was right three years ago may not be right today.

If you own farmland: Check your Base Allocation Notification (online with Login.gov, or from your county office) so you know the farm's 2026 base acres before its election is signed.

If you want to model scenarios: Use the ARC vs PLC Decision Tool or the ARC/PLC Payment Calculator on this site, or ask your FSA office to run the comparison for your specific farm.

If you're also buying crop insurance: Ask your agent about SCO at the new 80% subsidy rate. The ARC + SCO combination is now available and could strengthen your overall safety net. Get quotes on both before you finalize your ARC/PLC election at FSA.

ARC and PLC are not complicated once you understand what each one responds to. ARC responds to county-level revenue drops. PLC responds to national price drops. The OBBB changes made both stronger. The right choice depends on your specific commodities, your county, and the risk you're most concerned about. Run the numbers and make the choice for each commodity.

• ARC vs PLC Decision Tool: compare both for 2026
• ARC/PLC Payment Calculator: check 2025, estimate 2026
• OBBB Guide: what changed for farm programs
• Livestock Insurance: LRP, PRF, and how they work
• Program Stacking Guide: combine ARC/PLC with other programs
• Take the eligibility screener
• Find your local FSA office

Sources

• Statutory reference prices, effective reference price formula, ARC-CO benchmark, guarantee, and 85% payment acres: 7 CFR 1412.3
• PLC payment rate (effective reference price minus the higher of MYA or loan rate): 7 CFR 1412.52; ARC-CO payment and 12% cap: 7 CFR 1412.53
• 2026 effective reference prices and 2020–2024 MYA prices: FSA, 2026 Effective Reference Price Calculations (October 9, 2026)
• 2026 national average loan rates: FSA, 2026 National Average Loan Rates
• ARC/PLC payment limit ($155,000 in law, adjusted each year for inflation) and FSA's adjusted amounts: FSA Payment Limitations; 7 CFR 1400.1
• Projected 2026 PLC rates and ARC-CO benchmark prices: FSA Table 3 and Table 4 (October 9, 2026); county benchmarks: FSA ARC/PLC program data
• 2026 and 2027 enrollment, the 2026 election rule, multi-year contracts and the 3.69% base acre cut: FSA news release, September 15, 2026
• 2025 payments, sequestration and the 2025 limit: FSA news release, October 7, 2026; Notice ARCPLC-126
• Election changes allowed each year since the 2021 crop year: 7 CFR 1412.71
• SCO at 90% for 2027 and ECO for 2026: RMA MGR-25-006
• Program overview and enrollment: FSA ARC/PLC program page

Regulation links go to the eCFR, current as of October 27, 2026.

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