The deadline for farmers to make their farm program elections for the 2021 growing season is March 15. Tyler Leighton with Farm Credit Services of America says farmers can enroll in Agriculture Risk Coverage, which is based on the revenue from yield and price, or the Price Loss Coverage program which is based on price compared to a set reference price. He says the decision between ARC and PLC may be tougher than when grain prices were at lower levels.

Another option is to sign up for Price Loss Coverage with the Supplemental Coverage Option. And Leighton says after running different scenarios this may be a good option for some producers.

However, Leighton says a farm program decision is an individual one and needs to be based on risk tolerance and how a farmers yields compare to county yield averages.
Scott Peterson, Associate Administrator for the Farm Service Agency says farmers had a much shorter window to sign up for the farm program this year and that was by design.

The farm program elections are made for only one year and must be done by Monday to ensure farmers will receive a payment if it is triggered.