Farmers enrolled in Agriculture Risk Coverage now have more flexibility when putting together their crop insurance protection.
USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Richard Fordyce says a previous restriction prevented producers from purchasing Supplemental Coverage Option, or SCO, and Enhanced Coverage Option, or ECO, on crops enrolled in ARC.
That restriction has now been lifted.
ARC is a commodity safety net program designed around revenue protection, while SCO and ECO are county-based crop insurance options that provide additional coverage on top of a producer’s underlying crop insurance policy.
The change allows farmers to consider SCO and ECO coverage without giving up ARC enrollment on that crop, providing another option as producers build their overall risk management strategy.
The change comes as farmers are also making their ARC and PLC elections for the 2026 crop. That signup remains open through December 11, while enrollment for the 2027 crop begins November 2 and runs through March 15.
