2026 Crop Insurance Decisions

During the next few weeks, farm operators will be finalizing their crop insurance decisions for the 2026 crop year. March 16th is the deadline to purchase crop insurance for the 2026 crop year. The Spring base prices for corn and soybeans will be finalized on March 2, 2026, and should be similar to crop insurance base prices in 2025. There have been increases to federal premium subsidies and other enhancements for crop insurance coverage in 2026. This should provide for some favorable crop insurance options and guarantees for the 2026 crop year at reasonable premium costs. Linking a revenue protection (RP) insurance policy with farm yields together with SCO and ECO insurance coverage can provide enhanced risk protection, which can be especially important in this era of low commodity prices.
Producers have several crop insurance policy options to choose from, including yield-only (YP) and revenue protection (RP and RPE) policies, SCO and ECO policies, and other private insurance options. In recent years, most farm operators have chosen revenue protection (RP) insurance options, which provide a guaranteed gross revenue per acre (yield x price). This guarantee is based on yield history (APH) on a farm unit times the Spring (base) price, which is the average of the CBOT prices during the month of February for December corn futures and November soybean futures.
As of January 26, the 2026 crop insurance Spring price estimates in the Upper Midwest for YP, RP, and RPE policies were estimated near $4.55 per bushel for corn and near $10.80 per bushel for soybeans. The 2026 Spring prices will be finalized on March 2. The current 2026 Spring price estimates compare to recent base prices $4.70/bu. for corn and $10.54/bu. for soybeans in 2025; $4.66/bu. for corn and $11.55/bu. for soybeans in 2024; $5.91/bu. for corn and $13.76/bu. for soybeans in 2023; and $5.90/bu. for corn and $14.33/bu. for soybeans in 2022. The final 2026 crop revenue will be the actual fam yield times the crop insurance harvest price, which is the average CBOT prices during October for December corn futures and November soybean futures.
An analysis for the past nineteen years (2007-2025) shows that the final crop insurance harvest price for corn has been lower than the Spring base price in thirteen of the nineteen years, including a decrease of ($.48) per bushel in 2025. The corn harvest price was also lower from 2013-2019. That trend was reversed from 2020-2022, when the harvest price for corn rose above the Spring price by +$.11 per bushel in 2020 +$.79 in 2021, and by +$.96 in 2022, before declining in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The only other years that saw an increase in the harvest price compared to the Spring price were 2010, 2011 and 2012.
An analysis of the past nineteen years for soybeans, shows that the harvest price has increased in seven years (2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2021) and decreased in eleven years (2008, 2011, 2014-2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025), while staying the same in 2013. The range has been from an increase of +$2.84 per bushel in 2012 to a decline of ($3.00) per bushel in 2008. In 2025, the harvest price was $10.35/bu., which was a decrease of ($.19) per bushel from the Spring price. The range of price variation for both corn and soybeans over the years highlights the importance of having a solid crop insurance policy in place for the 2026 crop year.
Another insurance option that usually has a lower premium than a typical RP policy with harvest price protection is a RPE (harvest price exclusion) policy. An RPE policy functions similarly to a standard RP policy except that the guarantees on RPE policies are fixed at the base price level and are not affected by harvest prices that exceed the base price. The revenue guarantee for standard RP policies is increased for final insurance calculations, if average CBOT prices during the month of October are higher than the February CBOT prices, which is what occurred for corn and soybeans in both 2020 and 2021, as well as for corn in 2022. The RPE option is not recommended to protect against losses due to large crop disasters, such as a drought or other disaster that affects a large portion of the Midwest, or other situations that could lead to price increases during the year.
SCO and ECO Insurance Coverage Improved for 2026
New for 2026 - The Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) coverage will be available to producers that choose the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and the Ag Risk Coverage (ARC-CO) farm program options for the 2026 crop year. The farm program choice will no longer impact the SCO insurance coverage decision, as it had in the past. SCO coverage allows producers to purchase additional county-level crop insurance coverage up to a maximum of 86 percent coverage in 2026, which will increase to 90 percent coverage in 2027. For example, a producer that purchases an 80% RP policy for corn or soybeans could purchase an additional 6% SCO coverage in 2026.
The Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) provides area-based insurance coverage from 86 percent up to 95 percent coverage, with producers having a choice between 90 or 95 percent ECO coverage. The purchase of ECO coverage is not linked to farm program enrollment. Producers can utilize both ECO and SCO together, in addition to their underlying RP, RPE, or YP insurance policy. SCO and ECO are county revenue-based insurance products that utilize the same crop insurance Spring prices and harvest prices as RP insurance policies; however, the biggest difference is that SCO and ECO utilize county level average yields, rather than the farm-level APH yields. As a result, the SCO and ECO insurance policies may achieve different results than the underlying RP policy. County yields are not finalized until May in the year following harvest, so any indemnity payments for SCO and ECO coverage would not be paid until early June in the following year.
The Federal government has increased the premium subsidies for both SCO and ECO coverage for 2026, which should make premiums more reasonable for crop insurance coverage options that include these products. For 2026, the 90 percent ECO coverage will have a premium subsidy of 80%, similar to SCO coverage, and 95 percent ECO coverage will have a premium subsidy of 65%. The added premium subsidies make the higher crop insurance coverage levels more affordable for 2026. The enhancements to SCO and ECO coverage allow farmers to reduce risk and insure a higher percentage of their expected 2026 crop production at a reasonable premium cost. Many crop insurance companies have combined SCO and ECO coverage with other private insurance buy-up policies to offer some very attractive risk management insurance packages for 2026.
“Enterprise Units” and “Optional Units”
“Enterprise units” combine all acres of a crop in a given county into one crop insurance unit, while “optional units” allow producers to insure crops separately in each individual township section. “Enterprise units” usually have a lower premium cost (approx. $5.00-$10.00 per acre less) compared to “optional units” for comparable RP and RPE policies. Producers should be aware that “enterprise units” are based on larger coverage areas, and do not necessarily cover losses from isolated storms or crop damage that affect individual farm units, such as damage from hail, wind, or heavy rains that have occurred in recent years. It is important to understand the difference in insurance coverage and to analyze the yield risk on each individual farm unit, when determining if paying the extra premium for insurance coverage with “optional units” makes sense.
“Bottom-Line” on 2026 Crop Insurance Decisions
Producers have the option to purchase RP and RPE insurance coverage levels from 50% to 85%, and losses are paid if the final crop revenue falls below the revenue guarantee. Given the tighter margins for both corn and soybeans, there may be a tendency to reduce the level of crop insurance coverage for 2026. However, producers need to closely analyze their risk exposure for the 2026 crop year and adjust their crop insurance coverage accordingly. The enhancements to SCO and ECO insurance coverage allows crop producers to greatly improve their risk protection at a fairly reasonable cost. Crop insurance remains one of the best risk management tools that is available for farm operators to protect their investment in crop production.
A reputable crop insurance agent is the best source of information to find out more details about the various crop insurance products that are offered, to get premium quotes, and to help finalize 2026 crop insurance decisions. Kent Thiesse, Farm Management Analyst, has prepared an information sheet titled: “2026 Crop Insurance Decisions”. To receive a free copy, send an email to: [email protected]
For additional information contact Kent Thiesse, Farm Management Analyst, Green Solutions Group Phone --- (507) 381-7960; E-mail --- [email protected]