Farm Bill Program & Crop Insurance Decisions – What Fits Your Farm?
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February 14, 2024
Post-Session Evaluation & Survey
After an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, farm managers once again look to choose between Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agricultural Loss 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, MSU Extension hosted a series of webinar programs as part of the Farm Policy and Risk Management Series. Recordings from these sessions are available below.
There are two primary decisions to make for the 2024 Farm Bill commodity programs discussed at the webinars. The first choice is between Agricultural Risk Coverage - County (ARC-CO) and Price Loss Coverage (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 FSA 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 was used by speakers to 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 & PLC compares to ARC-CO. Webinar sessions also featured returning guest speaker, and crop insurance agent, Elliot Alfredson from Eagle Valley Ag Risk Advisors, LLC to discuss insights into insurance policies.