Time to make Farm Bill elections for the 2022-23 season.

Should you elect ARC-CO or PLC?

ARC-CO

Below is a brief overview of ARC-CO. The table shows the Olympic Yield and Trigger Yield for each county based on an estimated Marketing Year Average Price of $4.80 for corn and $10.50 for soybeans. It also shows the percentage of time the USDA NASS County Yields were lower than the Trigger Yield in the last 10 years.

2022 ARC-CO Corn 

2022 ARC-CO Soybeans

As you can see, the chances of receiving a payout from ARC-CO in 2022-23 is very low.

Also remember, the MYA Price is an estimated price. If price increases from $4.80 on corn, the Trigger Yield will decrease. If price decreases, then the Trigger Yield will increase from what is estimated today.

You can review Farm Bill data by each county on ISU’s Ag Decision Maker website.

PLC

PLC is simple. The Marketing Year Average price has to fall below the Effective Reference Price to trigger a payout. For corn this price is $3.70 and soybeans $8.40. Again the chances of collecting a PLC payment is low considering where prices are today. ISU estimates corn MYA at $4.80 and soybeans at $10.50.

In conclusion, there is a low probability ARC-CO or PLC will pay in 2022-23.

Does it matter which election I chose?

Yes, it can matter when selecting a crop insurance plan. If you would like to take advantage of SCO (Supplemental Coverage Option), you will need to elect PLC to be eligible. SCO offers county based coverage from your crop insurance level to 86% of county revenue. SCO is highly subsidized providing additional crop insurance coverage at a reasonable rate. Visit about this option when determining your overall crop insurance plan. See my blog post How Does SCO & ECO Work With Revenue Protection.