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New Commodity Program Base Acres

The USDA’s Farm Service Agency will automatically add up to 30 million new commodity base acres for the 2026 crop year, making them eligible for ARC and PLC payments. Farms qualify if they planted or were prevented from planting a covered commodity between 2019 and 2023 and their planted‑and‑considered‑planted (P&CP) acres exceed prior base acres, using a formula that adds the lesser of 15 % of total farm acres or eligible non‑covered commodity acres. New acres are allocated to covered commodities in proportion to each commodity’s historic planting share, with unassigned generic base acres converted first and a national cap that may trigger pro‑rated cuts. Owners must elect the commodity for each new acre, while yields are drawn from existing PLC yields or county averages.