USDA Adding Base Acres to ARC and PLC Programs Plus Specialty Crop Payment Update

Why It Matters

The moves will reshape farm safety-net payments and planning for landlords and operators ahead of the 2026 season, and the specialty-crop payouts will deliver targeted relief once rates are finalized—though data gaps could slow distribution. Clear notification and streamlined sign-ups aim to limit disruption, but growers should monitor communications and ensure acreage records are current.

Summary

USDA has completed a multi-year “history dig” and is close to allocating up to 30 million additional base acres into the ARC and PLC safety-net programs, with notifications to landowners forthcoming and a 90-day opt-out window. The new base-acre allocations will feed sign-up for ARC and PLC for the 2026 crop year, with enrollment expected in late summer or early fall; 2025 crop payments remain determined by the higher of existing program choices. Separately, USDA is finalizing payment rates for the $1 billion specialty-crop assistance program after collecting acreage reports and plans to issue pre-populated applications to speed distribution. USDA officials warned that fragmented historical data across hundreds of specialty crops has complicated calculations and urged growers to file regular acreage reports to accelerate future relief.

Original Description

USDA Undersecretary Richard Fordyce announces that landowners will soon receive notices about additional base acres being eligible for Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs. Farm owners will automatically have the additional acres added to their coverage unless they notify USDA's Farm Service Agency within 90 days, with new totals taking effect for the 2026 crop season.

Last year's One Big Beautiful Bill Act authorized USDA to add up to 30 million base acres to ARC and PLC programs. Fordyce explains that USDA has been conducting a "history dig" to determine which crops were planted between 2019 and 2023, with that work nearly complete. If more than 30 million acres qualify, the agency will allot additional acreage on a prorated basis according to crop type and geography.

Fordyce also provides updates on the Specialty Crop Farmer Program, part of the $12 billion in farmer assistance payments announced in late 2025. While FSA accepted applications through April, the agency is still finalizing payment rates for the $1 billion specialty crop program due to limited historical data and acreage reporting requirements.

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