K-State farm economist says fall harvest offers opportunity to gain information before choosing a federal farm program
Kansas farmers may have more time than they think to decide which federal farm program will provide their best fit for the 2026 crop, and a Kansas State University agricultural economist is encouraging producers to use that extra time.
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.
K-State Extension farm economist Robin Reid said the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs provide income protection based on revenue or commodity prices. Producers can choose ARC-County or PLC on a crop-by-crop basis, and make different decisions on different FSA farm numbers.
According to Reid, the delayed 2026 decision deadline gives farmers an unusual opportunity to have more information about their crop before making their election.
“There is a real advantage this year by harvesting this crop before we are required to make the ARC/PLC decision,” Reid said. “Especially on wheat base, the marketing year has already started and we have a couple of prices already published from USDA.”
Other crops have just begun their marketing years, Reid said, 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, Reid said, the choice could depend largely on county yields.
“If there were dry conditions during the growing season and lower yields across the county, ARC might be the way to go because it will pay even at higher prices since it is a revenue-based program,” Reid said.
Conversely, if county yields are above average, ARC would require a lower price to generate a payment, potentially making PLC more relevant, Reid said. Farmers should use their own individual farm information when comparing the programs, however.
“Farmers need to run the numbers for their individual farm,” Reid said. “As each farm has its’ own established program yield with FSA, that will determine how large PLC payments would be in relation to potential ARC payments”
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 is designed to help farmers 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.
Reid said farmers should begin considering their options but do not need to immediately visit their local FSA office.
“As many have started or will soon be starting harvest, I would encourage farmers to be thinking about the decision but there is no need to rush into the local FSA office at this time,” she said. “Get through harvest and evaluate how yields turned out, and then do the election and enrollment.”
Reid also encouraged producers not to wait until the deadline because FSA offices could face heavy workloads and staffing constraints.
The USDA announcement also included an update on new base acres, which farmers could qualify for if they were planting 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, according to Reid.
Meanwhile, ARC and PLC payments for the 2025 crop are scheduled to begin in October 2026. As a result of 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.
Reid said corn, soybeans, wheat and grain sorghum will receive PLC payments for 2025, although ARC payments are higher in some cases for corn and soybeans. K-State shows estimates for these payments for farmers to use on their cash flow.
For the 2026 crop, Reid said producers can use the harvest results, available price information and K-State’s decision tools to make a more informed election before the Dec. 11 deadline. K-State’s Department of Agricultural Economics will also be having informational webinars as the deadline gets closer.
PHOTO: Farmer in tractor preparing land for sowing. (Adobe Stock │ #68259903 – oticki)
