Join MSU Extension for a discussion on 2024 Farm Bill commodity program decisions

Jonathan LaPorte<laportej@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension, and Molly Sears<searsmo1@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics -

MSU Extension hosts webinar series to help you chose which Farm Bill commodity program best fits your farm.

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After an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, farm managers will once again look to choose between Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) for the 2024 production year. Deciding which program will offer the best risk protection for your farm can seem a bit complex. To aid you in making your Farm Bill decision, Michigan State University Extension will be hosting a series of webinar programs as part of the Farm Policy and Risk Management Series.

The first session will be on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, at 1 p.m. and the second session on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. Historically presented as “Farm Bill Program and Crop Insurance Decisions – What Fits Your Farm,” these repeat sessions will help you explore your options for 2024 Farm Bill commodity programs. Michigan State University (MSU) Extension experts will provide information on current policy updates, program statistics and payments from 2023 will also be highlighted. Webinar sessions will also feature returning guest speaker and crop insurance agent Elliot Alfredson from Eagle Valley Ag Risk Advisors, LLC, to discuss insights into insurance policies.

There are two primary decisions to make for the 2024 Farm Bill commodity programs. The first choice is between ARC-County (ARC-CO) and PLC. ARC-CO provides revenue-based payments when farm revenue falls below a “coverage guarantee” level. The PLC program provides price-based payments when prices are less than a “reference price.”

The second decision point is considering how the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) insurance policy ties in to the choice between ARC-CO and PLC. If chosen, the premium-based option of SCO limits your Farm Bill program choice to PLC. However, depending on your Farm Service Agency farm’s base acres and your planting intentions, SCO with PLC may offer potentially higher risk protection than ARC-CO.

Updated and streamlined for the 2024 production season, the MSU Farm Bill Analyzer decision tool will also be returning for the webinar sessions. Using the decision tool, speakers will examine potential risk scenarios you may experience in 2024. With those scenarios in mind, the analyzer identifies which Farm Bill program will provide the best protection and how a combination of SCO and PLC compares to ARC-CO.

Note: To make the most use of this tool, producers are encouraged to meet with their crop specialist or insurance agent to discuss and obtain estimated premiums and payments for an SCO insurance option. Additional resources for calculating estimates are also provided within the analyzer. These estimates are not calculated within the analyzer itself.

The Farm Policy and Risk Management Series is a free program presented by MSU Extension. To participate, registration is required.

Register for the Farm Policy and Risk Management Series

For the latest information on the Farm Bill, visit the MSU Farm Bill website.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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