Today is the deadline for some important crop insurance purchases

Today is the deadline for farmers to buy crop insurance for spring-seeded crops. Agents say you need to be prepared, pointing to last year’s near-record coverage.

“Last year, about 550 million acres of farm and ranchland nationwide were covered by crop insurance. That’s roughly nine out of ten acres that are eligible for coverage, which is up dramatically from just five years ago when fewer than 379 million acres were covered,” said Tom Zacharias with Nationla Crop Insurance Services.

Farmers and ranchers spent more than $6 billion last year out of their own pockets to buy 2.4 million policies. Zacharias says those policies then provided nearly $160 billion in protections.

Other crop insurance deadlines are on the horizon but there is still time. ARC and PLC decisions are due next month, which is a month later than normal. When making those plans, ag economists say PLC will likely pay less for most of the Corn Belt.

“Obviously, we don’t know all the prices and yields that will happen in 2025. If we have extremely low prices, PLC will pay more, but that’s a pretty remote case yet,” said Economist Gary Schnitkey.

Schnitkey and his team are leaning toward ARC county over PLC for corn, soybeans, and wheat this year, adding federal farm safety net programs are free of charge.

Related Stories
Vive’s Art Graves shared insights on the new Phobos FC 360 foliar fungicide, its advantages for Canadian growers, early performance results, and the company’s ongoing commitment to advanced crop protection solutions.
F-10 Wound Spray can now be used for livestock and other animals as officials monitor the ongoing New World Screwworm outbreak in Mexico.
China’s stricter inspection rules prompt Cargill to pause soybean exports from Brazil, briefly lifting U.S. soybean prices as traders anticipate potential shifts in global trade, as export demand remains supportive across all major U.S. commodities.
Suderman joins Tony St. James in the RFD Studios to discuss how geopolitical tensions are triggering global transport disruptions, new inflation pressures, and other challenges for agriculture to navigate.
RealAg Radio’s Shaun Haney shares insights from new Real Agri-Studies research surrounding the relationship between farmers and their lenders and what it reveals about the current farm economy.
Farm Bureau economist Dr. Faith Parum explains how geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East could further tighten fertilizer movement, increase fuel costs, and complicate planting decisions for U.S. farmers this spring.

LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

Dr. Jeffrey Gold provides insights on supporting aging populations in rural communities on this week’s Rural Health Matters segment.
OHFB President Bill Patterson shares an update from Washington on the group’s policy priorities and the issues shaping agriculture ahead of the 2026 planting season.
Ben Kurtzman with American Farmland Trust discusses the growing pressure on farmland and ranchland and the steps being taken to help conserve farms and ranches across the country ,as unrest in the Middle East adds more obstacles for producers.
NRECA CEO Jim Matheson warns that rising electricity demand from AI and data centers could strain the grid and affect rural electric cooperatives if U.S. power infrastructure cannot keep up.
Tidal Grow’s AlignN delivers encapsulated nitrogen to leaves, boosting in-season response, yield gains, and farm profits.