Kansas farmers have more time to evaluate which federal farm program may best fit their operations for the 2026 crop year, according to Kansas State University agricultural economist Robin Reid.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency announced Sept. 15 that election and enrollment for the 2026 crop year will run from Sept. 16 through Dec. 11. The election and enrollment period for the 2027 crop year will run from Nov. 2 through March 15, 2027.

The Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs provide income protection based on revenue or commodity prices. Producers can choose ARC-County or PLC on a crop-by-crop basis and can make different decisions for different FSA farm numbers.

Harvest Information Can Help

The delayed 2026 decision deadline gives farmers an opportunity to have more information about their crops before making an election. For wheat, the marketing year has already begun, with USDA prices available. Other crops have just begun their marketing years, but price estimates are available.

The timing of the decision could make this year’s harvest particularly useful in evaluating ARC and PLC. If relatively high grain prices persist through the marketing year, the choice could depend largely on county yields.

If dry conditions resulted in lower yields across a county, ARC could generate a payment even at higher prices because it is a revenue-based program. Conversely, if county yields are above average, ARC would require a lower price to generate a payment, potentially making PLC more relevant.

Farmers should use their individual farm information when comparing the programs. Each farm has its own established program yield with FSA, which determines the size of potential PLC payments relative to potential ARC payments.

K-State Offers Decision Tools

K-State has developed an online spreadsheet to help producers evaluate potential ARC and PLC payments. The tool compares payment levels under different marketing-year average prices and allows farmers to examine the tradeoffs between the programs. A tutorial video and highlights from the video also are available through AgManager.info, a website maintained by the K-State Department of Agricultural Economics.

As harvest begins, farmers are encouraged to consider their options but do not need to immediately visit their local FSA office. Producers can use harvest results to evaluate yields before completing their election and enrollment.

Farmers are encouraged not to wait until the deadline, however, because FSA offices could face heavy workloads and staffing constraints.

New Base Acres And 2025 Payments

The USDA announcement also included an update on new base acres. Farmers could qualify for new base acres if they planted more acres than they had in base. More than 30 million acres were eligible for new base-acre allocations, exceeding the national cap. As a result, FSA applied a 3.69% reduction to newly allocated base acres. Existing base acres are not affected.

ARC and PLC payments for the 2025 crop are scheduled to begin in October 2026. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, farmers will receive the higher of the calculated ARC or PLC payment for that crop year, regardless of the program they elected.

Corn, soybeans, wheat and grain sorghum are expected to receive PLC payments for the 2025 crop, although ARC payments are higher in some cases for corn and soybeans. K-State provides estimates of these payments for farmers to use in cash-flow planning.

For the 2026 crop, producers can use harvest results, available price information and K-State’s decision tools to evaluate their options before the Dec. 11 deadline. K-State’s Department of Agricultural Economics also plans to hold informational webinars as the deadline approaches.

Source: Kansas State University, "Farmers urged to start thinking about ARC, PLC decisions"