Farmers must pick federal safety-net program by March 15; experts advise them to start the sign-up process now

Starting with the upcoming crop season, farmers must now choose the Farm Bill safety-net program they want—either Agriculture Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage—on an annual basis. March 15 is the deadline, but experts say it's best to start the process now, especially if records must be updated. 

University of Illinois economists say neither program is likely to "make payments for the next crop season. based on current price forecasts and trend yields for corn and soybeans," Dehlinger reports. "Still, the deadline to make elections is fast approaching."

Illinois Farm Service Agency chief program specialist Randy Tillman said in a recent webinar that "if everyone in Illinois who enrolled in ARC or PLC last year wanted to change their elections, 170,000 contracts would need updating. With less than a month of business days to the deadline, that works out to nearly 6,000 farm updates each day," Katie Micik Dehlinger reports for DTN/The Progressive Farmer. But the pandemic has limited how many FSA employees can be in the office at one time, and many states require farmers to make appointments to complete paperwork.

"If we wait until the last few weeks, and then we find out you have farm records that you need to have updated before we can do an election, there's the possibility you'll miss out," Tillman said. Farmers who don't update their ARC/PLC elections by March 15 will be re-enrolled in the same program as the previous year. Tillman noted that farmers can choose one now and change their mind before the 15th.