Crop Insurance and PLC/ARC Deadlines are March 15
Grain Crop Insurance Sales Closing Deadline: March 15, 2024
Take time to review your crop insurance policy with your crop insurance agent to determine any changes needed going into the 2024 crop year. After variable weather patterns the last couple of years, it is especially important to take careful consideration of your policy for this year. Crop insurance can provide you with both production and revenue guarantees and has provisions for preventative planting and replanting.
Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) Programs Deadline: March 15, 2024
Because the 2018 Farm Bill was extended, farmers will have the same commodity title choices in 2024 as they have since 2019. Producers can enroll and make election changes until the deadline on March 15, 2024. Learn More About ARC and PLC
For the first time, the reference prices in 2024 for corn ($4.01) and soybeans ($9.26) will be above statutory reference prices ($3.70 for corn, $8.40 for soybeans). Those effective reference prices are well below 2024 ARC benchmark prices: $4.85 for corn, $11.12 for soybeans, and $6.21 for wheat. As illustrated in the recently updated 2024 Farm Bill What-If Tool — a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet — ARC-CO will trigger larger payments when county revenues are driven by low yields, while PLC payments may be larger with moderately low prices and higher yields, as well as in scenarios with extremely low prices.
However payments from either PLC or ARC-CO remain relatively unlikely for corn, soybeans, and wheat, even with lower prices expected for 2024. There is a higher likelihood of ARC-CO triggering payments on corn and soybean base acres given the higher benchmark prices compared with PLC’s effective reference prices. However, PLC may be attractive if an individual is concerned about corn and soybean prices falling below $3.75 and $9.00 per bushel, respectively. In addition, producers interested in using the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) insurance program will want to enroll in PLC.
2024 ARC/PLC What-If Tool
An updated 2024 version of the University of Illinois FarmdocDaily Excel-based Farm Bill What-If Tool is now available for download. The calculator can be used to compare payment scenarios for the PLC and ARC-CO programs for individual farm scenarios. The tool provides a tabular comparison of PLC and ARC-CO payments across a range of MYA price and county yield levels.
Paulson, N., G. Schnitkey, R. Batts and C. Zulauf. "First Look at PLC and ARC-CO for 2024." farmdoc daily (14):11, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, January 16, 2024.
