Iowa farmers will soon find themselves making ARC and PLC decisions for two different crop years at nearly the same time.
As we reported Tuesday, USDA has opened an unusual enrollment period for the 2026 crop that runs through December 11. That signup was delayed as USDA worked to allocate 30 million additional base acres made eligible for the programs.
Before that window closes, USDA will open enrollment for the 2027 crop, putting the two signup periods on top of one another for more than a month.
USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Richard Fordyce says the overlap is unusual, but the 2027 enrollment period marks a return to the more traditional schedule for the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs.
Enrollment for the 2027 crop begins November 2 and runs through March 15, 2027. That means producers will need to keep track of which crop year they are making decisions for as the two enrollment periods overlap.
Farmers will also have more flexibility in how they approach ARC and PLC enrollment in the years ahead. Fordyce says producers can continue making their decisions annually or consider a multi-year enrollment option.
Those choices can be important because ARC and PLC offer different forms of protection, and the better fit can depend on an individual farm’s situation and expectations for prices and yields.
Fordyce says producers do not have to work through those decisions without help. Iowa State University is among the land-grant universities providing analysis and tools designed to help farmers compare their options.
Farmers can use those resources to enter information from their own operation and consider how different scenarios could affect their ARC and PLC decisions.
For producers who are not sure where to find the appropriate tools or information, Fordyce says their local Extension resources can help point them in the right direction.
The immediate dates for Iowa farmers to remember are December 11, when enrollment for the 2026 crop closes, and November 2, when enrollment for the 2027 crop begins. The 2027 signup period then continues through March 15.
With two crop years requiring decisions in a relatively short period, producers can use resources available through Iowa State University and Extension to evaluate their options before making their ARC and PLC elections.
