By Jonathan LaPorte and Molly Sears
The 2018 Farm Bill has been extended to cover the 2024 production season. With that extension, field crop producers will once again look to choose between the Farm Bill commodity programs of Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agricultural Loss Coverage (ARC). Deciding which program will work best for your farm can seem a bit complex. To aid you in making your Farm Bill decision, Michigan State University Extension has prepared several resources.
Updated and streamlined for the 2024 production season, the MSU Farm Bill Analyzer decision tool examines 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.
There are two primary decisions to make annually for current commodity programs. 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. Streamlining insurance considerations for 2024, the MSU Extension analyzer looks at how a combination of SCO & PLC compares to ARC-CO.
NOTE: In order to make the most use of this tool, producers are encouraged to meet with their crop specialist/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.
MSU Extension will also be hosting a series of webinar programs as part of the Farm Policy and Risk Management Series. Historically these sessions have been presented as “Farm Bill Program & Crop Insurance Decisions – What Fits Your Farm.” These repeat sessions will help producers explore their options for 2024 Farm Bill commodity programs. MSU Extension experts will provide information on current policy updates, program statistics and payments from 2023 will also be highlighted. Speakers will also explain how program payments from ARC-CO and PLC will be calculated for 2024.
These programs will also feature returning guest speaker, and crop insurance agent, Elliott Alfredson from Eagle Valley Ag Risk Advisors, LLC to discuss insights into insurance policies. As well as provide examples using the MSU Farm Bill Analyzer decision tool.
The Farm Policy and Risk Management Series is a free program presented by Michigan State University Extension.
Source : msu.edu