2023 PLC and ARC-County Payments
Payment rates for the 2023 Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage at the county level (ARC-CO) have been released by the USDA Farm Service Agency. No PLC payments were triggered for the major row crops as the 2023 marketing year average (MYA) prices were all above their respective effective reference prices. ARC-CO payments for wheat, soybeans, corn and sorghum were triggered in a relatively small number of Arkansas counties.
Wheat
ARC-CO payments for wheat were triggered in seven (7) counties. The counties and payment rates per base acre are:
- Hempstead: $18.63/acre
- Jackson: $2.68
- Lee: $4.22
- Little River: $19.32
- Miller: $20.35
- Pulaski: $29.28
- White: $25.97
Soybeans
ARC-CO payments for non-irrigated soybean base were triggered in three (3) counties. These include:
- Faulkner: $3.86/acre
- Little River: $20.48
- Prairie: $24.65
Corn
Clay county was the only county in Arkansas to trigger an ARC-CO payment for corn ($69.34/acre for non-irrigated corn base).
Sorghum
Twelve (12) counties triggered ARC-CO sorghum payments on non-irrigated base acres.
- Craighead: $28.67/acre
- Crittenden: $33.77
- Cross: $29.49
- Desha: $29.29
- Greene: $7.44
- Lee: $31.29
- Mississippi: $30.75
- Monroe: $7.60
- Phillips: $31.94
- Poinsett: $28.92
- Francis: $30.07
- Woodruff: $14.71
Summary
With the 2023 MYA prices exceeding the PLC effective reference prices, no PLC support will occur. For ARC-CO, relatively large yield losses at the county-level were required to trigger payments. For soybeans, corn and sorghum, ARC-CO payments were only triggered on non-irrigated base acres.
For counties where 2023 ARC-CO payments were triggered, those payments have likely been received during the month of October. As a reminder, ARC-CO and PLC payments are paid on 85% of base acres and are subject to a $125,000 per entity payment limitation. These commodity title payments can be reduced due to budget sequestration which may vary by county and from year to year.
Any ARC-CO or PLC payments associated with the current 2024 crop year will not be determined until the 2024 marketing year ends in 2025 (May 31 for wheat, July 31 for peanuts, rice and cotton, August 31 for corn, sorghum and soybeans), with payments not being received until October 2025.
References
University of Arkansas. 2024. 2023/2024 Maps for Wheat, Corn, Soybeans, and Grain Sorghum University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service.
FSA. 2024. ARC/PLC Program Data, 2023 Program Year Specific Data. Farm Service Agency, United States Department of Agriculture.