2014 Farm Bill vs. 2018 Farm Bill –

Agricultural Risk Coverage & Price Loss Coverage

Overview

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the 2018 

Farm Bill) amended the Agricultural Improvement Act 

of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill) and reauthorized the 

Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss 

Coverage (PLC) programs with modifications. The 

ARC Program is an income support program that 

provides payments when actual crop revenue declines 

below a specified guarantee level. The PLC Program 

provides payments when the effective price for a 

covered commodity falls below its effective reference 

price. Though much of the main structure of the ARC 

and PLC programs was retained in the 2018 Farm Bill, 

a few mandatory and discretionary changes were made 

to ARC and PLC in regulations. The following 

information covers the changes for the ARC and PLC 

programs for the 2019 through 2023 crop years.

1

FACT SHEET

August 2019

Farm Service Agency

Program At-A-Glance

2014 Farm Bill vs. 2018 Farm Bill

Treatment of Base Acres on Farms Entirely

Planted to Grass, Pasture, Idle or Fallow

2014: The 2014 Farm Bill placed no restrictions on 

farms planted to grass, pasture, idle or fallow in any 

year.

2018: Base acres on farms where all cropland acres 

have been planted entirely to grass or pasture, 

including cropland that was idle or fallow, from 

January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2017, will be 

maintained; however, no ARC or PLC payments will 

be issued for those base acres from 2019 through 2023. 

Identified farms meeting these criteria cannot be 

combined with another farm in order to circumvent 

these provisions.

Election of ARC or PLC

2014: The 2014 Farm Bill required producers to make 

a one-time unanimous and irrevocable election to 

obtain PLC or ARC-CO on a covered, commodityby-commodity basis. An election of ARC-IC applied to 

all covered commodities on the farm. The election was 

effective for the 2014 through 2018 crop years.

2018: The 2018 Farm Bill requires a unanimous 

election to obtain PLC or ARC-CO on a covered 

commodity-by-commodity basis that will remain in 

effect for the 2019 through 2023 crop years. An 

election of ARC-IC in any year will apply to all 

covered commodities on the farm. Starting with the 

2021 crop year, and each crop year 

thereafter through 2023, the producers 

on a farm may change the election of 

PLC or ARC on a year-to-year basis.
2

FARM BILL CHANGES TO THE ARC-PLC PROGRAM - AUGUST 2019

ARC County Payments Based on Physical Location 

of the Farm

2014: The 2014 Farm Bill provided that payment rates 

for covered commodities with an ARC County election 

were based on the yield data from the administrative 

county of the farms determined by FSA.

2018: Beginning with crop year 2019, payments for 

covered commodities with an ARC County election 

will be based on the yield data of the county where 

each tract is physically located. ARC County revenues 

will be weighted by base acres from each physically 

located tract, then summarized to the administrative 

farm level to determine the payment rate. 

County Yield Data

2014: The 2014 Farm Bill provided the actual and 

benchmark ARC County per-acre yields that were 

established using the following data sources, as 

determined by the Secretary: NASS County yield, Risk 

Management Agency (RMA) and other sources 

determined by the STC.

2018: Effective for each of the 2019 through the 2023 

crop years, the actual and benchmark ARC County 

per-acre yields will be established using the following 

three data sources in the following order of 

precedence: RMA, National Agricultural Statistics 

Service (NASS) and other sources determined by the 

State Committee (STC).

Yield Updates

2014: The 2014 Farm Bill allowed for a one-time 

opportunity to update farm PLC yields on a covered 

commodity-by-commodity basis. The updated yield 

was used in calculating PLC payments for crop years 

2014 through 2018 on covered commodities that had 

elected PLC. 

2018: The 2018 Farm Bill allows producers a one-time 

opportunity to update farm PLC yields on a covered 

commodity-by-commodity basis in 2020. The updated 

yield will be used in calculating PLC payments for 

crop years 2020 through 2023 for covered 

commodities that have elected PLC.

Farms with Less than 10 Base Acres

2014: The 2014 Farm Bill provided that a producer on 

a farm may not receive ARC or PLC payments if the 

sum of the base acres on the farm is 10 acres or less. 

Exceptions: socially disadvantaged farmers or 

ranchers or limited resource farmers or ranchers.

2018: Under the 2018 Farm Bill, a producer may not 

receive ARC or PLC payments if the sum of base acres 

on all farms in which the producer has an interest is 10 

acres or less. Exceptions: socially disadvantaged 

farmers or ranchers, limited resource farmers or 

ranchers, beginning farmers or ranchers, or veteran 

farmers or ranchers.
Commodity

Wheat

Corn

Grain Sorghum

Barley

Oats

Long Grain Rice

Medium Grain Rice

Soybeans

Other Oilseeds

Peanuts

Dry Peas

Lentils

Small Chickpeas

Large Chickpeas

Seed Cotton

$5.50

$3.70

$3.95

$4.95

$2.40

$14.00

$14.00

$8.40

$20.14

$535.00

$11.00

$19.97

$19.04

$21.54

$0.367

bushel

bushel

bushel

bushel

bushel

hundredweight

hundredweight

bushel

hundredweight

ton

hundredweight

hundredweight

hundredweight

hundredweight

pound

Reference

Price

Unit of

Measure

3

FARM BILL CHANGES TO THE ARC-PLC PROGRAM - AUGUST 2019

Years Used to Compute Benchmark Yield for

ARC County

2014: Under the 2014 Farm Bill, USDA established 

benchmark revenue using the average historical yield 

from the five most recent crop years. This provision 

was administered using the immediately five preceding 

years.

For example, the 2017 benchmark revenue was 

computed using the yield from crop years 2012-2016.

2018: Under the 2018 Farm Bill, because in crop years 

2021-2023 the producer or producers on the farm may 

change their election, FSA will establish benchmark 

revenue using an average of the actual county yields 

from the five preceding years that immediately 

precede the previous year.

 

For example, under the 2014 Farm Bill, the 2022 

benchmark would be computed using the average of 

actual county yields from crop years 2017-2021. The 

2021 actual county yield information cannot be 

obtained by FSA until September 2022, which is well 

after the time to make each 2022 farm election. 

Therefore, under the 2018 Farm Bill, the 2022 

benchmark will be computed using the acreage of the 

2016 through 2020 actual county yields. Prices will 

correspond to the yields.

Reference Price vs. Effective Reference Price

Reference Price of a covered commodity is:

Effective Reference Price of a covered commodity 

means the lesser of:

• an amount equal to 115 percent of the reference price

 for the applicable covered commodity, or

• the greater of:

 - the reference price of the applicable covered, or

 - 85 percent of the Olympic average of the

 marketing year average price of the applicable

 covered commodity for a five-year period prior to

 the previous crop year.
4

FARM BILL CHANGES TO THE ARC-PLC PROGRAM - AUGUST 2019

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

PLC

2014: The 2014 Farm Bill made PLC payments to 

producers when the effective price for the applicable 

covered commodity was less than the reference price 

for the covered commodity.

2018: The 2018 Farm Bill will make PLC payment to 

producers when the effective price for the applicable 

covered commodity is less than the effective reference 

price for the covered commodity.

ARC

2014: If the 12-month national average market price 

for any year in the benchmark calculation is less than 

the reference price, then the reference price was 

substituted for the 12-month national average market 

price for that year.

2018: If the 12-month national average market price 

for any year in the benchmark calculation is less than 

the effective reference price, then the effective 

reference price will be substituted for the 12-month 

national average market price for that year.

Determining Counties and Crops with a Separate 

Irrigated and Non-irrigated Guarantee and 

Actual Revenue

2014: The 2014 Farm Bill directed the Secretary, to 

the extent practicable, to calculate a separate actual 

revenue and guarantee for irrigated and non-irrigated 

covered commodities. FSA implemented the policy by 

determining that a county and crop combination must 

have at least 25 percent of the acreage irrigated and 25 

percent of the acreage non-irrigated using FSA planted 

data for the 2008 through 2013 crop years.

2018: Under the 2018 Farm Bill, the same language 

was used except that the phrase “to the extent 

practicable” was removed. FSA policy for determining 

a county and crop that will have a separate irrigated 

and non-irrigated guarantee and actual revenue will be 

based on RMA data. In order to be designated a county 

with a separate irrigated and non-irrigated guarantee 

and actual revenue, one of the following items must 

occur:

• RMA irrigated and non-irrigated data must be

 available in 3 of the 5 years between the years 2013

 and 2017, or

• Both of the following:

 - FSA irrigated and non-irrigated data must indicate

 the county had at least 10% irrigated and 10%

 non-irrigated in the county between the years 2013

 and 2017

 - an average of 5,000 acres was planted in the

 county every year 2013 through 2017

FSA will evaluate these counties beginning in 2021 

and continue through the end of the farm bill.

Enrollment Dates

2014: Under the 2014 Farm Bill, the enrollment dates 

were November 1 through August 1 of the applicable 

contract year.

2018: Under the 2018 Farm Bill, the enrollment dates 

will be as follows:

More Information

For more information on FSA programs, eligibility and 

related information, visit fsa.usda.gov.

Find your Local USDA 

Service Center

To locate your local FSA office, visit 

farmers.gov/service-locator.

Contract

Year

Enrollment Dates

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

September 3, 2019 through March 15, 2020

October 7, 2019 through June 30, 2020

October 2020 through March 15, 2021

October 2021 through March 15, 2022

October 2022 through March 15, 2023