View Rule

The rule will revise the ARC and PLC regulations. Specifically, it will revise the eligibility requirements and payment formulas for the ARC and PLC Programs to be consistent with the provisions in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill). The ARC Program is a revenue-based program that provides payments when, for the relevant crop year, a farm’s revenue is less than a specified guarantee level. The PLC Program provides payments when, for the relevant crop year, the effective price for a covered crop is below its effective reference price set in law.  The rule will make minor changes in the regulations that are consistent with the changes made by the 2018 Farm Bill for ARC and PLC. In general, the regulatory changes are mandatory; however, there is some discretion on how some of the provisions are being implemented.  The discretionary regulatory changes include the following to be consistent with the 2018 Farm Bill, changes provide a single opportunity for an owner to update a farm’s PLC payment yield on a covered-commodity-by-covered-commodity basis, and amend how the program would operate for farms with all cropland planted to grass or pasture, including cropland that was idle or fallow, from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2017.