Farm Service Agency, University of Nebraska-Lincoln to Host Commodity Crop Safety Net Informational Webinar on Jan. 30

Lincoln, Nebraska, Jan. 22, 2025 – Nebraska USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) is partnering with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center for Agricultural Profitability (CAP) on a webinar designed to educate commodity crop producers on the 2025 Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs election and enrollment process. The ARC/PLC signup period is open through April 15, 2025, and producers are encouraged to begin working with their USDA county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to complete the election and enrollment process.

Producers can learn about the ARC and PLC options for 2025 during the FSA/CAP webinar scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CT on Thursday, Jan. 30. Dillon Breinig, production and compliance programs specialist for the Nebraska Farm Service Agency, and Brad Lubben, Extension policy specialist in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Department of Agricultural Economics, will present and share information relevant for producers, ag professionals and ag stakeholders. Registration for the webinar is free and can be found directly at go.unl.edu/farmprograms25 or go to the CAP website at cap.unl.edu/webinars.

ARC and PLC are key USDA safety-net programs that help producers weather fluctuations in either revenue or price for certain crops. These programs were extended for the 2025 production season through The American Relief Act, 2025 which renewed many Farm Bill-authorized programs for another year.

“Safety-net programs like ARC and PLC are designed to help producers mitigate some of the financial stressors associated with crop production. I encourage farmers to evaluate their program elections and enroll for the 2025 crop year,” said Nebraska FSA Acting State Executive Director Tim Divis.

Brad Lubben, Extension policy specialist with CAP, said changes in commodity crop prices over the past several years may influence producers’ ARC/PLC decision-making process for 2025.

“Following another extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, producers face a familiar choice between ARC and PLC for 2025, but under different circumstances now as compared to the past several years,” said Lubben. “Understanding the program mechanics and analysis will help producers make sound enrollment decisions with FSA.”

ARC provides income support payments on historical base acres when actual crop revenue declines below a specified guaranteed level. PLC provides income support payments on historical base acres when the effective price for a covered commodity falls below its effective reference price. Producers can elect coverage and enroll in ARC-County or PLC on a crop-by-crop basis, or ARC-Individual for the entire farm, for the 2025 crop year. Although election changes for 2025 are optional, enrollment (signed contract) is required.

If an election is not submitted by the April 15, 2025, deadline, the election defaults to the current election for crops on the farm from the prior crop year.

All program participants are encouraged to review their previous program elections, Divis said.