Reviewing 2025 Crop Insurance Price Discovery

By Faith Parum

Crop insurance, along with Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), is one of several tools farmers use to manage risk. Each season brings its share of uncertainty, from weather and pests to market swings that can change prices overnight. Crop insurance helps farmers navigate these risks, which could put them out of business. In 2025, more than 90 million acres of corn, 9 million acres of cotton and 75 million acres of soybeans were protected under federal crop insurance. This year alone, farmers paid more than $3.6 billion in crop insurance premiums, ensuring a safety net that helps keep their businesses stable when challenges arise.

Revenue Protection with the Harvest Price Option

Among the different coverage types available to farmers, Revenue Protection (RP) with the harvest price option remains the clear favorite. In 2025, these policies covered about 85 million acres of corn, 8.4 million acres of cotton and 71 million acres of soybeans.

Farmers choose RP coverage because it protects both yield and price risk. The policy guarantees a certain level of revenue, based on the higher of two prices: the projected price set before planting (the spring price) or the market price at harvest (the harvest price). If weather or other issues reduce yields, RP pays for the lost production. If prices drop between planting and harvest, RP helps cover the gap between what the crop was expected to earn and what it actually sells for. If prices rise instead, the coverage increases so farmers can replace lost bushels at current market prices.

Spring and Harvest Prices

Each year, USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) sets spring prices by averaging futures contract settlement prices during February’s price discovery period using December contracts for corn and cotton and November contracts for soybeans. The same process in October determines harvest prices.