USDA Safety Net Choices Simplified by Missouri Tool

By Blake Jackson

With the USDA deadline approaching for growers to choose between safety net programs, the University of Missouri’s Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center (RaFF) has launched a user-friendly tool to aid in this crucial decision for major crops.

These programs, Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC), alongside federal crop insurance, form the essential farm safety net for U.S. crop producers, according to Alejandro Plastina, director of RaFF.

Plastina explained that "While PLC offers price protection, ARC offers shallow loss revenue protection. ARC is available at the county level (ARC-CO) and at the individual farm level (ARC-IC)."

"While most land-grant universities publish their own decision tools to help local farmers evaluate the potential payments from ARC-CO and PLC, RaFF’s ARC/PLC Payment Explorer does not require downloading spreadsheets, setting up an account or sharing any personal information," said Plastina. "With four clicks, farmers across the country can evaluate the potential payment rates from ARC-CO and PLC for corn, soybean and wheat program acres in crop year 2025."

The enrollment deadline is April 15, 2025, and Plastina indicated that any payments triggered for the 2025 crop year will be issued in October 2026.

This new tool offers a straightforward four-step process to compare potential payments per enrolled acre for covered commodities under PLC and ARC-CO in any U.S. county.

It provides comparisons across three scenarios: a baseline, a lower-price, and a higher-price scenario, Plastina detailed. Due to the farm-specific nature of ARC-IC parameters, which are not publicly available, ARC-IC is not included in this tool.

Farmers can access RaFF’s ARC/PLC Payments Explorer for corn, soybeans, and wheat via the link. The center plans to expand the list of commodities included in the tool in 2026.

Generating a report involves a simple four-step process: selecting a county and irrigation system, choosing a projected baseline price, and selecting the PLC yield.

The tool also allows for easy exploration of alternative price scenarios by selecting different marketing year average (MYA) prices.

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