To help farmers choose between Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), USDA helped create online decision tools that allow farmers to enter information about their operation and see projections about how each program will benefit them under possible future scenarios. The new tools are now available at www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc.
How Do I Use Them?
- The Univ. Of Illinois (National Coalition for Producer Education) tool gives you some block like links to use:
- Start Here for Program & Tool Explanation
- See a Sample Farm – check out a sample farm in your county
- Create your own Custom Farm
- Payment Yield Quick Calculator – pop up calculator
- Base Acre Quick Calculator – pop up calculator
Go to the USDA tool page, read it carefully, it gives you some key information about the ARC-PLC decision.
2. You can also choose the University of Missouri/Texas A&M online selection tool…
You will have to sign up online. Later, you will be able to go back and re-login to review your data.
Who Made the Tools?
USDA provided $3 million to the University of Illinois (lead for the National Coalition for Producer Education) and the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri and the Agricultural and Food Policy Center (AFPC) at Texas A&M (co-leads for the National Association of Agricultural and Food Policy) to develop the new online decision tools.
When Can I Start?
As of now, farm owners may begin visiting their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices if they want to update their yield history and/or reallocate base acres, the first step before choosing which new program best serves their risk management needs.
Letters sent this summer enabled farm owners and producers to analyze their crop planting history in order to decide whether to keep their base acres or reallocate them according to recent plantings. The next step in USDA’s safety net implementation is scheduled for this winter when all producers on a farm begin making their election on ARC / PLC, which will remain in effect for 2014-2018 crop years.

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