Landowners will soon receive notices about additional base acres being eligible for Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs, according to Richard Fordyce, USDA undersecretary for farm production and conservation.
Farm owners will automatically have the additional acres added to their coverage, unless they notify USDA’s Farm Service Agency within 90 days. The new totals will go into effect for the 2026 crop season.
Last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act authorized USDA to add up to 30 million base acres to ARC and PLC programs. Fordyce said USDA has been conducting a “history dig” to determine which crops were planted between 2019 and 2023. That work is nearly complete.
If USDA determines that more than 30 million acres qualify for the commodity programs, the agency will allot the additional acreage on a prorated basis according to crop type and geography. Fordyce also emphasized notices would go to landowners, not farmers who may be renting their properties.
“It will be 100% equal and fair,” he said.
FSA finalizing specialty crop payment rates
In late 2025, USDA announced $12 billion in farmer assistance payments. Of that, $11 billion was authorized to support major commodity producers through the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program. The remaining $1 billion was set aside to support specialty crop producers.
FSA accepted applications for the Specialty Crop Farmer Program through April. Now the agency is working to finalize how the funding will be allocated.
Determining these payment rates has taken more time since USDA has less historical data on specialty crops. Applicants also needed to complete an acreage report, a task many specialty crop producers have not typically been required to do.
“We hope to have an announcement here soon on what those payment rates are going to look like,” Fordyce said.
The program is expected to be administered in a similar manner to the bridge payment program, with farmers receiving pre-populated applications that simply need to be approved.
As for additional farmer assistance Congress is considering, Fordyce said he has not been a part of those conversations. However, if and when Congress authorizes more assistance, he said USDA will be ready to respond.