Last summer, we wrote about a novel new concept for adding base acres to farms that had been proposed in the House Ag Committee-passed version of the 2024 Farm Bill (Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024). While that farm bill never came to fruition, the concept ultimately was adopted in the One Big Beautiful Bill (H.R. 1) that was recently signed into law by President Trump. The provision will allow up to 30 million additional base acres across the nation. Today’s article addresses some of the questions we’ve been asked, while providing an overview of the mechanics.
- What will happen to my existing base acres? Nothing.
- If this doesn’t affect my existing base acres, then what does it do? For those farms where recent plantings (described below) exceed the number of existing base acres on the farm, it allows the landowner to add additional base acres.
- How does it work? There are essentially two simple components to the additional base provision that address acres planted to both covered and non-covered commodities:
- Covered Commodities: If the average number of acres of covered commodities planted (or that were prevented from being planted) on a farm from 2019 through 2023 exceeds the number of existing base acres on the farm, you are eligible to add the difference as additional base acres.
- Non-Covered Commodities: You can also add the number of acres of eligible non-covered commodities planted (or that were prevented from being planted) on a farm from 2019 through 2023 as additional base acres, so long as the total does not exceed 15% of the total acres on the farm.
- If I get additional base acres, what crops will they be assigned to? They will be assigned in proportion to the covered commodities you planted from 2019 to 2023.
- If I have “unassigned crop base” from previous changes to U.S. cotton policy, is it eligible to be included in the allocation of additional base acres? Yes.
- Will I get these new base acres in time for the 2025 crop year (i.e., the crop I harvest in 2025)? No. The OBBB clearly stipulates that the new base will be in effect for the 2026 crop year.
- What happens if USDA discovers there are more than 30 million acres of eligible new base? If the total number of eligible acres across the country exceeds 30 million acres, the Secretary would be required to apply a pro-rata, across-the-board (i.e., no progressive factoring) reduction to all farms to reduce the number of eligible acres to equal 30 million. For example, if USDA determines there are 60 million acres of eligible new base, everyone would see their additional base acres factored by 50% (i.e., 30 million divided by 60 million).
- I’ve read that this concept wasn’t vetted and that it was designed to only help one region of the country. Is that true? No, that’s just political nonsense. Yes, the OBBB was a partisan process—reconciliation is notoriously partisan and has been repeatedly used by both political parties—but as we noted above, this provision went through a full committee mark-up last summer and has been thoroughly discussed/vetted over the last year. Finally, while this will certainly provide more benefit to areas like the Northern Plains where more covered commodities are being planted than in the past, we see no evidence that this was done to provide special benefit to any single region. In fact, it seems obvious to us that it was designed to address repeated complaints from all corners of the country to help landowners who—for whatever reason—have land that is not fully based.
- Do I need to reach out to my county office? No. Congress is requiring USDA to go through a notification process with landowners. Further, producers already report their plantings to USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), so in theory, FSA already has the data it needs to automate this process. With that said, the bill also provides an opportunity for a landowner to opt out of receiving additional base acres if they wish. Also, for purposes of assigning the new base to crops, for acreage that has been planted to a subsequent crop (other than a covered commodity produced under an established practice of double cropping), the owner gets to elect the covered commodity (but not both) to be used for that crop year in determining the 5-year average. In other words, there will be cases where the process cannot be completely automated.
Bottom line: this is a significant change from previous law that can only help producers (i.e., there is no downside). As always, the information above is provided for educational purposes only and is subject to change. USDA is the final authority on how this provision will be implemented, so be on the lookout for details in the weeks and months ahead.
Fischer, Bart L., and Joe Outlaw. “Addressing Questions about Additional Base Acres in the One Big Beautiful Bill.” Southern Ag Today 5(31.4). July 31, 2025. Permalink
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