After an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, farm managers will once again look to choose between Price Loss Coverage and Agricultural Loss Coverage for the 2025 production year.

Deciding which program will offer the best risk protection for your farm can seem complex. To aid growers in making farm bill decisions, MSU Extension is hosting a series of free webinar programs as part of the Farm Policy and Risk Management Series.

The first session is at 1 p.m. Jan. 21, and the second session on at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 11. Historically presented as “Farm Bill Program and Crop Insurance Decisions — What Fits Your Farm,” these repeat sessions will help farm managers explore options for 2025 Farm Bill commodity programs.

MSU Extension experts will provide information on current policy updates, program statistics and payments from 2024.

There are two primary decisions to make for the 2025 Farm Bill commodity programs. The first choice is between Agricultural Risk Coverage — County and Price Loss Coverage. ARC-CO provides revenue-based payments when farm revenue falls below a coverage guarantee level. The PLC program provides price-based payments when prices are less than a reference price.

The second decision point is considering the Supplemental Coverage Option, which is a premium-based option that is only available with PLC. However, depending on a grower’s farm’s base acres and planting intentions, SCO with PLC may offer potentially higher risk protection than ARC-CO.

Updated for the 2025 production season, the MSU Farm Bill Analyzer decision tool will also be returning for the webinar sessions. Using the decision tool, speakers will examine potential risk scenarios you may experience in 2025.

With those scenarios in mind, the analyzer identifies which farm bill program will provide the best protection and how a combination of SCO and PLC compares to ARC-CO.

To make the most use of this tool, producers are encouraged to meet with their crop specialist or insurance agent to discuss and obtain estimated premiums and payments for an SCO insurance option. Additional resources for calculating estimates are also provided within the analyzer. These estimates are not calculated within the analyzer itself.

To participate, registration is required. To register, visit events.anr.msu.edu/fprms.

For the latest information on the farm bill, visit the MSU farm bill website.

Source: MSU Extension