A massive expansion of the farm safety net is now underway. USDA has opened ARC and PLC enrollment—adding millions of additional acres for the first time in more than 20 years.
Under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, USDA has officially unlocked 30 million new base acres nationwide for the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) safety net programs. Official enrollment for the 2026 crop year opened September 16, and growers have until December 11, 2026, to make program elections and submit signed contracts.
Failure to act by the December 11 cutoff carries a heavy penalty: operations will forfeit eligibility for 2026 program payments entirely, defaulting automatically to 2025 election parameters without coverage protection for the 2026 crop year.
Minimal Reductions Despite High Demand
Because total eligible acreage submitted nationwide slightly exceeded the 30-million-acre cap authorized by Congress, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is applying a minor across-the-board prorated reduction of 3.69% to all newly allocated base acres.
“Because the total universe of eligible acres was not much more than 30 million, we had to do a prorated reduction, but it was only at 3.69%,” said USDA Farm Production and Conservation Undersecretary Richard Fordyce. “So as an example, if you had 100 acres of eligible new base—you would have 96.31 acres—so, not much of a reduction. I think that’s really good news.”
The update accounts for massive structural shifts across American agriculture over the past 20 years, capturing shifts in crop rotations and previously untracked acres on livestock and dairy operations.
“It’s been over 20 years since we’ve added any additional base acres [in] areas of the country where their cropping systems have changed,” Fordyce noted. “When we look at North Dakota, for example—now, a state that grows a lot of corn and soybeans.. And then in some other states, like a dairy heavy state, those farms had been reporting those acres.”
What Indiana Producers Need to Know Right Now
State-level breakdowns—including the exact number of new base acres added in Indiana and how many Hoosier farms received an increase—have not been publicly released by the USDA Farm Service Agency at this time.
However, Indiana producers do not need to wait on state totals to review their individual operation’s numbers:
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Check Base Allocation Summaries Immediately: Indiana farmers can access their updated, farm-specific base acreage notifications online at fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc using a Login.gov account, or by calling their local county FSA office.
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Review Crop Insurance Rules: Under the revised law, farmers can now purchase Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) or Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) crop insurance policies regardless of whether they elect ARC or PLC, removing previous stacking restrictions.
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Lock In 2026 Enrollment: Multi-year contracts ended in 2025. Even if you keep your existing coverage elections, you must sign a new contract by December 11, 2026, to receive 2026 program payments. (Producers can opt to sign multi-year contracts covering 2026 through 2031).
For assistance or web-based decision aids to evaluate ARC versus PLC choices for your operation, contact your local FSA county office, university extension specialist, or crop insurance agent immediately.
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