Many Farm Program And Crop Insurance Questions

The so-called “One Big Beautiful Act” (OBBA) that was passed by Congress in 2025 made some important changes to provisions that could affect 2026 farm program and crop insurance decisions. This includes the implementation of higher reference prices for all Title I crops beginning for the 2025 and 2026 crop years, improved farm program guarantees, and increased federal subsidies for crop insurance premiums. These enhancements have raised some questions for farmers as they analyze their options for 2026 crop insurance coverage, as well as with their choice of the PLC and ARC-CO farm program option. The crop insurance sign-up deadline is March 16. No sign-up dates have been announced for enrollment in the 2026 farm program.
 
Following are some of the farm program and crop insurance questions that have resulted from the implementation of the OBBA, as well as other common questions:

• How did the OBBA affect reference prices for 2025 and 2026 ?

The statutory reference prices were increased by 10 to 20 percent for all farm program crops beginning with the 2025 crop year, and continuing for the 2026 through 2031 crop years. The new statutory (minimum) reference prices are $4.10/bu. for corn, $10.00/bu. for soybeans, and $6.35/bu. for wheat. The “effective reference prices” are based on the 5-year “olympic” average (drop the high and low) market year average (MYA) price from five previous crop years times 85% (.85). The effective reference price can be as much as 15 percent above the statutory reference price. The
 

• How will the increased refence prices affect the benchmark (BM) prices that are used to determine guarantees for the ARC-CO program ?

The BM prices will continue to be calculated based on the 5-year “olympic” market year average (MYA) price for five previous years, with no factoring. The minimum BM prices for 2025-2031 will be $4.10/bu. for corn $10.00/bu. for soybeans, and $6.35/bu. for wheat. There will be no impact on the 2025 and 2026 BM prices due to the calculated BM prices exceeding the “effective” reference prices. The 2025 and 2026 BM prices are $5.03/bu. for corn, $12.17/bu. for soybeans, and $6.98/bu. for wheat. 
 

• What are the changes in the OBBA that will be used for calculation of ARC-CO payments ?

The ARC-CO guarantee level is increased to 90 percent of the calculated benchmark (BM) revenue (BM county yield x BM price), which is up from the previous 86 percent guarantee. The maximum ARC-CO payment cap is increased to 12 percent of the calculated BM revenue, which was previously at 10 percent. This combination means that ARC-CO payments will be initiated more frequently, and the maximum ARC-CO payment amounts per base acre will be significantly higher for most program crops.
 

• What are the new farm program payment limits under the OBBA ?

The payment limit for ARC-CO and PLC payments has been increased to $155,000 per eligible entity or individual, beginning with the 2025 program. This is up from the previous payment limit of $125,000. An inflation adjustment factor was also added, which could allow for small increases in future payment limits. Farm businesses that are set up as S corporations and LLC’s will now be treated similar to general partnerships as far as determining the number of individuals that are eligible for payment limits; however, no details have been released regarding the revised payment limit eligibility.
 

• Will the OBBA provisions be implemented retroactively for the 2025 crop year ?

Yes, since farmers had already selected their farm program choice when the OBBA was passed, they will automatically receive the higher of any PLC or ARC-CO payments for a given farm program crop for the 2025 crop year, which will be paid in October. This provision will only be in effect for the 2025 crop year.  
 

• Will farmers be able to increase crop base acres for 2026 ?

The OBBA allows for the addition of up to 30 million more farm program base acres, which will be allocated among eligible program crops. The added base acres will be for acres planted to farm program crops that are currently not eligible for farm program benefits. It is not anticipated that this will include the opportunity to change or update existing crop base acres. It is likely that the new crop base acres will be eligible for farm program benefits for the 2026 crop year; however, no announcement has been made in that regard. As of this writing, USDA has not announced the details for adding crop base acres.
 

• What are the enrollment dates for the 2026 farm program ?

USDA has not yet announced the sign-up dates for the 2026 farm program. It is anticipated that sign-up may not begin until after the crop base acre update has been completed, which means that farm program sign-up may be delayed until late Spring or early Summer. The delay in the 2026 farm program sign-up beyond the normal March 15 deadline can actually be a benefit for producers, as it allows them to have a better handle on 2026 crop production and anticipated 2026 market year average prices. This can be very helpful when deciding between PLC and ARC-CO as a farm program choice for 2026.
 

• Where can producers get more information on the 2026 farm program ?

County Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices will provide information on the 2026 farm program details and sign-up procedures, as soon as information becomes available. The FSA offices will also be providing information on crop base acre upgrades, as soon as those details are available. The updated 2026 crop reference prices used to calculate PLC payments, as well as the 2026 benchmark prices, yields, and revenues used to calculate ARC-CO payments and other farm program information are available on the FSA website at: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/resources/programs/arc-plc/program-data
 

• What are the increased crop insurance premium subsidies that are in place for 2026 ?

The federal premium subsidies for 80 and 85 percent crop insurance coverage will increase by 3 percent for 80 and 85 percent coverage levels, with an increase of 5 percent for other levels of crop insurance. The 2026 premium subsidy is increased to 80% in 2026 for both Supplemental Crop Option (SCO) and Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) insurance cverage. In addition, both SCO and ECO are now available with either the PLC or ARC-CO farm program choice in 2026.
 

• What are the extra premium subsidies for beginning farmers with ten years or less of farming experience ?

The additional beginning farmer premium subsidies in 2026, beyond the regular crop insurance premium subsidies, are as follows:

• Year 1 and 2 farming --- additional 15% premium subsidy.
• Year 3 of farming --- additional 13% premium subsidy.
• Year 4 of farming --- additional 11% premium subsidy.
• Year 5-10 of farming --- additional 10% premium subsidy.

 

• How could the increased premium subsidies and other changes affect crop insurance decisions ?

The increased premium subsidies will allow most corn and soybean producers in the Midwest to utilize and an 80 or 85 percent revenue protection (RP) insurance policy with farm-level APH yields, and then supplement that policy with SCO and ECO insurance coverage utilizing county yields. This can provide for up to 95 percent insurance coverage in 2026 at a fairly reasonable cost.
 
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For additional information contact Kent Thiesse, Farm Management Analyst, Green Solutions Group
Phone --- (507) 381-7960; E-mail --- [email protected]