The signup period opened up earlier this week for the USDA Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2021 crop year. The two programs — ARC providing income support based on historical base acres and crop revenue guarantees and PLC based on the same acres, only coupled with pre-determined commodity reference prices — help producers mitigate financial stress in a time of challenging market prices like today, according to USDA Farm Service Agency Administrator Richard Fordyce. If previously enrolled in one of the programs whether for one or multiple years, producers still must sign an enrollment contract for each year. The deadline for the 2021 crop year is March 15, 2021. See more details on the programs and find out how to sign up here.