Estimate Your ARC & PLC Payments
Compare ARC-CO and PLC payments for your farm. Adjust acres, yields, and expected prices to see which program may pay more under different scenarios.
What are you choosing between?
Two different kinds of insurance on the same crop. PLC is like fire insurance — it triggers when one specific thing happens: the season’s average market price falls below a reference price set in law. ARC-CO is more like homeowner’s — it triggers when your county’s total revenue (price × county yield) falls below 90% of its recent benchmark.
You pick one per crop per farm for the crop year. PLC tends to look better when you expect low prices and normal-or-better yields; ARC tends to look better when yields are shaky in your county or prices hover near the reference.
The 2025 farm bill raised ARC-CO’s guarantee from 86% to 90% of benchmark revenue, and raised the maximum payment from 10% to 12% of that benchmark. For a corn farm at a $5.03 benchmark and 180 bu/acre county yield, those two changes add up to roughly $15/acre more at the payment cap.
Max payment: 10% of benchmark
Corn at $5.03 × 180: guarantee $778/ac, max payout $77/ac
Max payment: 12% of benchmark
Corn at $5.03 × 180: guarantee $814/ac, max payout $92/ac
PLC reference prices also rose under OBBB (corn $3.70 → $4.26, soybeans $8.40 → $9.66, and others). The estimator below uses the post-OBBB rules. Payment limits also rose — $125,000 → $155,000 per person for commodity programs.
1. Commodity & Base Acres
2. PLC Inputs
3. ARC-CO Inputs
Estimated Payments
At $3.70/bu MYA and 180 bu/acre county yield, on 500 base acres:
ARC-CO may pay more at this scenario because county revenue (price times yield) fell below 90% of the benchmark. ARC catches revenue drops that PLC can miss, especially when prices are near the reference price but county yields are down.
Trigger Prices
How the Math Works
| Effective reference price | $4.26/bu |
| Higher of (MYA, loan rate) | $3.70/bu |
| Payment rate | $0.56/bu |
| Payment yield | 175 bu/acre |
| Payment factor | 85% of base acres |
| PLC per acre | $83.30 |
| PLC total (500 acres) | $41,650 |
| Benchmark revenue | $905.40/acre |
| Guarantee (90%) | $814.86/acre |
| Actual county revenue | $666.00/acre |
| Shortfall | $148.86/acre |
| Max payment (12% of benchmark) | $92.35/acre |
| Payment factor | 85% of base acres |
| ARC-CO per acre | $92.35 |
| ARC-CO total (500 acres) | $46,175 |
What If Prices Move?
Estimated per-acre payments at different MYA price levels relative to the effective reference price, holding county yield at 180 bu/acre.
| Scenario | MYA Price | PLC/acre | ARC-CO/acre | PLC Total | ARC Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -20% | $3.41 | $126.73 | $92.35 | $63,367 | $46,175 |
| -15% | $3.62 | $95.05 | $92.35 | $47,526 | $46,175 |
| -10% | $3.83 | $63.37 | $92.35 | $31,684 | $46,175 |
| -5% | $4.05 | $31.68 | $73.44 | $15,842 | $36,720 |
| At ref price | $4.26 | — | $40.85 | — | $20,426 |
| +5% | $4.47 | — | $8.26 | — | $4,131 |
| +10% | $4.69 | — | — | — | — |
Top Corn, Soybean, and Wheat Counties
ARC-CO and PLC payment estimates are most actionable in counties with significant row-crop base acres. These are the largest by 2022 Census ag acreage.
Source: 2022 Census of Agriculture. Updated 2026-05-01.
These are estimates for educational purposes only. Actual ARC and PLC payments depend on final marketing year average prices, your farm's specific base acres, PLC payment yields, and county-level benchmark data published by FSA. The effective reference price may differ from the statutory reference under the escalator clause. Consult your FSA office and crop insurance agent before making election decisions. Farmer's Navigator is not affiliated with USDA.