ARC-CO Payments Dominate 2024 Support as Margins Tighten

ARC-CO delivers the bulk of 2024 support, offering key margin relief as producers manage tight operating conditions.

corn crop aerial_adobe stock.png

URBANA, Ill. (RFD-TV) — Payments from Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) are now being issued for the 2024 crop year, offering meaningful help as row-crop margins remain tight. New analysis from farmdoc daily (University of Illinois and Ohio State University) shows that ARC-CO provides the bulk of support, with payments triggered widely outside the core Corn Belt, where county yields fell below benchmark levels.

Total ARC-CO and PLC outlays are estimated at $2.6 billion, with 89 percent coming from ARC-CO. Corn base acres are expected to receive nearly $1.3 billion (about $18 per acre on average), while soybeans total $618 million. PLC payments are limited to peanuts and seed cotton — roughly $295 million combined — as market-year prices for most commodities stayed above PLC reference levels.

For producers, these payments provide critical cash-flow relief heading into another year of elevated costs and narrow margins, supplementing recent disaster and ad hoc assistance.

Farm-Level Takeaway: ARC-CO delivers the bulk of 2024 support, offering key margin relief as producers manage tight operating conditions.
Tony St. James, RFD-TV Markets Specialist

To learn more, visit: farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2025/11/estimates-of-2024-arc-co-and-plc-payments.html.

Related Stories
Foreign trade partners, such as China and the European Union, are still purchasing U.S. commodities, but are becoming more cautious as the Trump Administration’s tariff deadline approaches in August.
Demand for farm loans surged in the first quarter of the year, topping the previous record set in 2016.
The Arkansas Farm Bureau offers a ‘Beef in the Classroom’ grant to assist with ag education. Applications for that program open in August.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) hosted the talks. The senator and doctor joined us on Wednesday on RFD-TV’s Market Day Report to recap the critical discussions surrounding human health in America.

Tony St. James joined the RFD-TV talent team in August 2024, bringing a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective to RFD-TV and Rural Radio Channel 147 Sirius XM. In addition to his role as Market Specialist (collaborating with Scott “The Cow Guy” Shellady to provide radio and TV audiences with the latest updates on ag commodity markets), he hosts “Rural America Live” and serves as talent for trade shows.

LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

Farmers still earn only a small share of consumer food spending, even as post-farm costs continue to take most of the dollar.
Corn and cotton gave the strongest signals this week, while soybean demand remained softer than in the previous report.
Reliance on vegetable imports remains uneven, with domestic production still anchoring several major categories.
Farmland outlook is tracking closely with producer confidence, investment appetite, and financial expectations.
StoneX’s Josh Linville discusses USDA’s efforts to boost domestic fertilizer production and his outlook on supply and prices.
Landowners interested in protecting working ground through an easement now have another funding window open until the end of May.