At HIA, we strive to give our customers the best information and tools available to help their farm succeed. As part of that, we built this ARC-CO / PLC payment estimator for the 2025 crop year. The tool currently covers corn and soybeans in Bureau, Fulton, Henry, Knox, Marshall, McLean, Peoria, Putnam, Stark, Tazewell, and Woodford counties — the primary row crops and counties we work in across central Illinois.
The tool calculates each farm's estimated payment using its own base acres and PLC yield, rather than applying a single blended number across your whole operation.
Following the same approach we take with every part of your operation at HIA, we believe studying your farm field-by-field — or in this case, FSN-by-FSN — is the best way to see the full picture.
To use the tool, check the county (or counties) where you farm base acres from the dropdown on the left. Then add a row for each FSN under "Farms/FSNs," entering the county, FSN, crop, base acres, and PLC yield. If an FSN has both corn and soybean base acres, add a separate row for each crop under that same FSN.
The results update automatically as you type, showing the estimated ARC-CO and PLC payment for each FSN, subtotaled by crop and by county, with your operation's total estimated payment at the bottom.
By default, the tool uses the current USDA WASDE price projections for corn and soybeans, but you can adjust the MYA Price fields on the left to test different price scenarios.
Important: the tool doesn't save your data automatically. Once your farms are entered, click "Export CSV" to save a copy — if you want to pick up where you left off later, click "Import CSV" and upload that file instead of re-entering everything.
Please reach us at andrewherrmann@herrmannintegratedag.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
No. Unless you click "Export CSV" and download the csv file, if you leave the tool or even refresh your browser, all data will be lost. Your data is not saved, recorded, or shared with anyone, nor is it ever available for even HIA members to view.
Agriculture Risk Coverage – County (ARC-Co) pays out when actual county-level crop revenue falls below a guaranteed level based on historical county prices and yields. It's a revenue-based safety net tied to your county's performance, not your individual farm's.
Price Loss Coverage (PLC) pays out when the national marketing year average (MYA) price for a crop falls below a fixed "effective reference price." It's a price-based safety net and doesn't depend on county yields at all — only on national prices.
No — farmers elect one program or the other, by crop, per farm. However, for the 2025 crop year specifically, FSA is issuing whichever payment is higher (ARC-CO or PLC) per base acre, regardless of which program was elected. That's why this tool shows both calculations side by side.
OBBBA raised the statutory and effective reference prices used in PLC, raised the ARC-CO revenue guarantee from 86% to 90% of benchmark revenue, and raised the ARC-CO payment cap from 10% to 12% of benchmark revenue. Combined, these changes generally increase potential payments compared to the prior farm bill formulas.
FSA typically issues ARC/PLC payments for a given crop year starting in October of the following year, after final MYA prices and county yields are certified. For the 2025 crop year, that means payments are expected this fall.
It's the higher of the national MYA price or the national loan rate for that crop. This matters because PLC and ARC-CO payments can never make effective price fall below the loan rate — it's a floor built into the formula.
PLC Payment/acre = 85% × (Effective Reference Price − Effective Price) × your farm's PLC Yield. If the Effective Price is at or above the Effective Reference Price, PLC pays $0.
ARC-Co Payment/acre = 85% × the smaller of (a) 90% of Benchmark Revenue minus Actual County Revenue, or (b) 12% of Benchmark Revenue. Benchmark Revenue uses your county's Olympic-average yield and the national benchmark price; Actual County Revenue uses the final NASS county yield and the Effective Price.
ARC-Co is county-specific — it uses each county's own benchmark (historical Olympic-average) yield and final NASS yield for the year. Counties with a bigger gap between their benchmark and actual yields will show larger ARC-Co payments, even at the same crop price.
PLC Yield is the counter-cyclical program yield established for your farm with FSA, generally based on historical production history. It's on file with your local FSA office and printed on your farm's base acre records — it is not the same as your actual harvested yield. Request form FSA-156-EZ from your local FSA office.
No. This tool estimates gross ARC-Co/PLC payments per farm based on base acres and yields only. It does not apply payment limitation caps, adjusted gross income (AGI) eligibility limits, or sequestration reductions, all of which can reduce your actual payment.
No. This is a planning estimate built on county-level data believed to be reliable and current program parameters. Your actual payment is determined by FSA using certified final prices and yields. Confirm final figures with your local FSA office before making financial decisions.
Bureau, Fulton, Henry, Knox, Marshall, McLean, Peoria, Putnam, Stark, Tazewell, and Woodford counties in Illinois. If your county isn't listed, use the request link on the tool to ask us to add your area's data.
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