ARC vs PLC Election Calculator
Compare ARC-CO and PLC estimated payments for the 2026 crop year before you walk into your FSA office.
What are you choosing between?
Think of these as two different kinds of insurance on the same crop.
PLC (Price Loss Coverage) is like fire insurance. One specific thing has to happen — the season’s average market price has to fall below a reference price set in law. If it does, PLC may pay the gap per bushel on your payment yield. It doesn’t care about your yield.
ARC-CO (Agriculture Risk Coverage, county option) is more like homeowner’s insurance — broader coverage triggered by total revenue rather than price alone. If your county’s revenue (price × county yield) falls below 90% of its recent benchmark, ARC may pay the shortfall up to a cap.
You pick one per crop per farm for the crop year. The rough logic: PLC tends to look better when you expect low prices and normal-or-better yields. ARC tends to look better when you expect yield trouble in your county, or when prices hover near the reference price. The calculator below lets you stress-test both at price and yield scenarios you choose.
Step 1: Your Crop
Select the covered commodity on your farm's base acres.
Step 2: Yield Information
Your PLC yield is on your FSA-526 form. The county benchmark yield is published by FSA. Use your county's actual number if you have it.
Step 3: What Do You Expect?
What marketing year average (MYA) price and county yield do you expect for 2026? Leave blank to use defaults.
Marketing year: Sep 2026 – Aug 2027. PLC effective reference: $4.26/bu. ARC benchmark: $5.03/bu. ARC trigger: ~$4.53/bu.
Your Estimated Payments
At $4.05/bu MYA price and 180 bu/acre county yield, on 200 base acres:
What if prices move?
Payments at different MYA price levels. “Bad yield” assumes county yield drops to 80% of benchmark.
| Scenario | MYA Price | PLC/acre | ARC (normal) | ARC (bad yield) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -15% | $3.62 | $92.34/acre | $92.35/acre | $92.35/acre |
| -10% | $3.83 | $61.56/acre | $92.35/acre | $92.35/acre |
| -5% | $4.05 | $30.78/acre | $73.44/acre | $92.35/acre |
| At reference | $4.26 | — | $40.85/acre | $92.35/acre |
| +5% | $4.47 | — | $8.26/acre | $92.35/acre |
Take this to your FSA office. Print or screenshot your results. Ask your FSA rep to pull your actual PLC yield and county benchmark data, then rerun this calculator with the real numbers.
What to Say When You Walk In →Top Corn, Soybean, and Wheat Counties
ARC and PLC payments move with commodity prices and yields in these core row-crop counties. Each county page covers local FSA contacts, program deadlines, and base-acre context.
Source: 2022 Census of Agriculture. Updated 2026-05-01.
These are estimates for educational purposes only. Actual payments depend on your farm's specific base acres, PLC yields, county benchmark data, and final marketing year average prices. Consult your FSA office and crop insurance agent before making election decisions.