10.02.14

Hoeven Announces ARC-PLC Signup Process Starts October 6

New Online Tools, Extension Service Producer Meetings Available to Help

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced that North Dakota farm owners can begin working with their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) to take the first step toward signing up for the newly created Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. As a member of both the Senate Agriculture Committee and the farm bill conference committee, Hoeven worked to craft and pass the new risk management programs as part of the 2014 farm bill.

“We worked hard to ensure the farm bill included strong risk management tools that meet the unique needs of our producers, which is why I pushed to include the new Agriculture Risk and Price Loss Coverage programs in the farm bill to help farmers better manage their risk,” said Hoeven. “Risk management tools like these are important, because they benefit not just producers, but also every single American who has access to the highest-quality and most affordable food, fuel and fiber in the world. These new programs offer two strong options for our farmers, and starting Monday they will have resources available to help them determine the program that best meets their needs.”

Today’s announcement of eligibility to reallocate base acres and update yields is the first step in three step process for farmers to choose which new program best serves their risk management needs.

  • The first step starts Monday, Oct. 6 and runs till Feb. 27, 2015, during which time farm owners will have a one-time chance to update base acres and program yields.
  • The second step begins on Nov. 17, 2014, and runs through March 31, 2015, when producers will have to select which risk management program to enroll in, either PLC or ARC. The selection will remain in effect for the crop years 2014 through 2018.
  • The third and final step begins in mid-April 2015 and runs throughout the summer of 2015, when producers will sign contracts to participate in the ARC or PLC program for the 2014 and 2015 crop years.

To assist producers in making these important decisions, farmers can work with their local FSA office or use a new online tool developed by North Dakota State University (NDSU) to aid farmers in deciding which program to enroll in. The decision aid tool is available online now here. It uses previous crop yields and other factors to help farmers elect their commodity title programs.

To further help, the North Dakota Extension service will hold a series of farm bill producer meetings across the state to help producers navigate the process. The schedule can be found here.

As a member of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, Hoeven has been working to ensure that USDA implements the farm bill in a timely manner and includes producer input as it finalizes programs.