Category: Policy

Hurricanes and tropical storms can damage crops through strong winds and excessive rainfall. Yield Protection and Revenue Protection may pay indemnities when covered causes of loss reduce yield or revenue below the policy guarantee, but producers retain a deductible based on their selected coverage level. Hurricane Insurance Protection–Wind Index (HIP-WI) is an optional endorsement covering part of that deductible for an additional premium. For example, producers with a 75% underlying coverage level and no other coverage for the deductible can insure up to 20% of expected crop value—the difference between 75% and 95%. The dollar amount of HIP-WI coverage is called the Hurricane Protection Amount. The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act increased HIP-WI’s premium subsidy from 65% to 80%, reducing the standard producer-paid share of the premium from 35% to 20%.

This additional protection works differently from the underlying policy: HIP-WI payments depend on county-level weather conditions rather than farm-level losses. For hurricane coverage, USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) uses official wind data to determine whether the insured county or an adjacent county intersects a named hurricane’s designated wind area, defined by sustained winds of at least 64 knots (74 mph). Producers with eligible HIP-WI coverage can receive a payment if this occurs during the coverage period. This means that producers may receive payments with little farm damage or suffer losses without a HIP-WI payment. This potential mismatch is called basis risk.

Producers can add the Tropical Storm Option to HIP-WI for an additional premium. The option pays half the Hurricane Protection Amount when RMA identifies a qualifying tropical-storm event in the insured county or an adjacent county. To qualify, that county must meet the 34-knot (39 mph) sustained-wind criterion and receive at least 5.9 inches of county-average rainfall during the specified storm window, as determined by RMA using official National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data. Combined hurricane and tropical-storm payments cannot exceed the applicable Hurricane Protection Amount. 

Participation has grown, but indemnity payments have fluctuated. RMA’s Summary of Business shows that the number of policies earning premium roughly doubled from 2020 to 2025, while total premium more than quadrupled from about $107 million to $451 million (Figure 1). The national loss ratio—indemnities divided by total premium—varied across years: it was 1.77 in 2020 and 1.98 in 2024 and remained below 1.0 in the other four years.  

These six crop years provide only a short history. RMA’s historical workbooks offer a longer perspective by applying its trigger methodology to archived weather data. Figure 2 shows the number of years in which each county would have met the trigger criteria during 1991–2024. Hurricane triggers were most frequent near the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, while tropical-storm triggers extended farther into the lower Mississippi Valley and Southeast. Producers can compare the historical records for their county with storms that caused losses on their farms. Considering this history alongside HIP-WI’s premium and protection amount can help producers assess whether the coverage fits their insurance needs.

Figure 1. HIP-WI premiums and indemnities, crop years 2020–2025

Figure 2. Retrospective county trigger indications in Southern Ag Today states, 1991–2024

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Recommended citation format: Lee, Seunghyun. “HIP-WI Basics and Trends.” Southern Ag Today 6(40.4). October 1, 2026. Permalink

Authors: Bart L. Fischer, Joe L. Outlaw, Henry L. Bryant, Hank R. Nelson, Natalie G. Stewart, J. Marc Raulston, Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University.

The ARC/PLC election & enrollment for 2026 is now live through December 11. You can access AFPC’s decision tool here.

Earlier this week, USDA announced (link) that the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) election and enrollment period for the 2026 crop year will run from September 16 through December 11, 2026. This typically occurs much earlier in the year, but the process for the 2026 crop year was delayed due to the amount of time it has taken USDA to implement the Working Families Tax Cuts Act (i.e., One Big Beautiful Bill) which added up to 30 million acres of additional base acres across the United States. This delay is a substantial benefit for producers, since the 2026 crop either has been or soon will be harvested across the country, and producers will have a much better sense of what yields will be (which has a significant bearing on the performance of ARC in particular). With that said, both ARC and PLC use marketing year average prices from the 12 months following harvest.  So, while producers may have a clearer sense of what yields will be, the marketing year average price is far from settled. As a result, when they make their election and enrollment decisions over the next 3 months, they must take that uncertainty into account.

                  The Agricultural & Food Policy Center (AFPC) at Texas A&M University has decades of experience in developing decision aids for producers.  We have provided an annual decision tool for ARC and PLC since those programs were first created in the 2014 Farm Bill.  We have once again updated the decision aid for the changes made in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.  We have also refreshed the tool to make it easier to use. If you’ve used it in the past, your existing data should load once you log in. You can find a link to the tool on our website (link). Before using the tool, it would be helpful to make sure you have access to your base acre and program yield data which can be found on the FSA-156EZ form.

                  The following screen captures provide a general walk-through of the decision tool. You will be prompted to log-in primarily so you don’t have to enter data again each time you visit the tool. Once you are on the Tools and Decision Aids landing page, simply click on “2026 FSA ARC/PLC Expected Payments” (circled in red below).

From that point, you can add as many farms (i.e., FSA Farm Serial Numbers, or FSNs) as needed by clicking on the blue “+ Create a Farm” button. 

Once your farms have been added, simply click “+ Add a crop” to add the covered commodities associated with that farm.

Once you’ve added the crops (i.e., covered commodities) on the farm, click “Analyze.”

At this point, you will be prompted to add Base Acres for that covered commodity on the farm along with the 2026 PLC Payment Yield, the Historically Irrigated Percentage, and the Expected Price. Because the marketing year average price is far from known at this point, you are welcome to click on “View Suggested Prices” which will provide the most recent forecasted price for the marketing year from USDA.  You are also welcome to run the analysis as many times as you want using your own price estimates. Because this tool evaluates PLC versus ARC County (ARC-CO), if you have a very good sense of what the 2026 actual yield for the county will be, you may wish to override our forecasted yield.  You can do that by clicking on “Advanced Settings” and inputting your own county yield estimate.  Once you are finished, simply click “Calculate” and then scroll down for the results.

Once you’ve clicked “Calculate,” the results will display below. As noted in the following figure, the results will include a table of summary statistics (i.e., mean and median expected payments and chance of payment) along with a chart that shows the likelihood of both ARC and PLC across a range of possible payments. Again, you are welcome to run the tool as many times as you want under as many different assumptions/scenarios as you want.

While the decision tool discussed above is for PLC and ARC-CO, we know that some producers will be interested in exploring possible payments under ARC Individual (ARC-IC). We have developed a separate, Excel-based tool that you are welcome to download from the same website (2026 ARC-IC Decision Aid).

Please note that USDA also announced that signup for the 2027 crop year will begin on November 2, 2026, and run through March 15, 2027. We will be providing an updated tool for the 2027 crop year as we get closer to November 2^nd.

Our FREE tools are available for producers nationwide. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out at 979-845-5913 or 1(888)890-5663.

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Recommended citation format: Fischer Bart L., Joe L. Outlaw, Henry L. Bryant, Hank R. Nelson, Natalie Stewart, and J. Marc Raulston. “Making the ARC/PLC Election for the 2026 Crop Year.” Southern Ag Today 6(38.4). September 17, 2026. Permalink

Authors: Chris Boyer and Aaron Smith – University of Tennessee 

Feral hogs are one of the most destructive and costly wildlife threats facing American agriculture. Across the United States, feral swine populations have exploded from 18 states in 1982 to around 30 states in 2025, with population continuing to rise in many of those locations. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) publishes county level population maps from 1982 to 2025 (USDA APHIS 2026). Figure 1 shows the USDA APHIS map for 2025 county level feral swine populations.

Figure 1. USDA APHIS map for county level feral swine populations

The damage they leave behind is staggering. The USDA estimates feral swine cause $2.5 billion in damage each year, but some estimate the annual damages to be nearly $3.4 billion (Link, link). Agriculture, mostly crops, are estimated to account for the $800 million of these damage (Link). Beyond crops, feral hogs spread disease to livestock, damage farm infrastructure like fences and roads needed for agricultural production, destroy recreational parks, and cause extensive environmental damage to wildlife habitats, water quality, and plant ecosystems.

The 2018 Farm Bill established the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program (FSCP), a $75 million initiative over a five-year period, to respond to the damage caused by feral swine to agriculture, property, ecosystems, and human and animal health. The program was implemented beginning in 2020 across select counties in ten states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas). The program was a partnership between USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, which focused on restoring lands damaged by feral hogs, and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which focused on removing feral hogs. Producers and landowners in participating counties were also eligible for grant funding to support hog control efforts. A one-year extension provided additional funding through Fiscal Year 2024. A full report of the projects implemented during this period is found online (Link).

In July 2025, the One Bill Beautiful Bill (link) reinstated the FSCP allocating $105 million through fiscal year 2029. Currently, USDA is accepting applications for grant funding for partners in: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.USDA have expanded the program from the original 10 states to include California, Hawaii, Missouri, and Tennessee. Partners selected to participate in the FSCP will provide landowner assistance for restoration and on-farm trapping efforts and provide related services, like training. The USDA is currently making available $35 million for grant-funded projects. Applications for these grants are open until 11:59 ET on September 21, 2026. For more information about funding opportunity and to apply, visit the notice of funding on Grants.gov.  

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Recommended citation format: Boyer, Chris, and Aaron Smith. “Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program Grant Applications.” Southern Ag Today 6(36.4). September 3, 2026. Permalink

Authors: Yangxuan Liu, Associate Professor, University of Georgia; Michael R Langemeier, Professor, Purdue University

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) changes how U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) payment limitations apply to different farm business structures. On June 2, 2026, USDA released the final rule (link) explaining how this provision will be administered beginning with the 2026 program year.

Prior to passage of OBBBA, business structure affected the number of payment limitations an operation could receive. General partnerships and joint ventures were permitted to multiply the applicable payment limitation by the number of eligible partners. In contrast, a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or S corporation was generally treated as a single legal entity—and limited to a single payment limitation—regardless of the number of members actively engaged in the farming operation. As a result, many producers organized as general partnerships to preserve eligibility for multiple USDA payments, despite the additional personal liability associated with that business structure. This disparate treatment of entities was highlighted in a previous Southern Ag Today article (link) by Ferrell, Lashmet, and Fischer (2024).

To address this imbalance, OBBBA established the Qualified Pass-Through (QPT) Entity classification (Table 1). Eligible QPT entities include Partnerships, Joint ventures, S corporations, and LLCs that are not taxed as C corporations. Beginning with the 2026 program year, QPT entitiesmay qualify for USDA payment limitations based on the number of eligible members, provided each member satisfies USDA eligibility requirements, including the actively engaged in farming provisions. Now, Qualified Pass-Through LLCs and S corporations are treated similarly to general partnerships and joint ventures for USDA payment limitation purposes.

Table 1. Payment Limitations for Qualified Pass-Through (QPT) Entities Before and After the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

Business Structure	Before OBBBA	After OBBBA
General Partnership	Payment limitation multiplied by the number of eligible persons or entities that comprise the ownership of the QPT entity	No change
Joint Venture	Payment limitation multiplied by the number of eligible persons or entities that comprise the ownership of the QPT entity	No change
Partnership (within the meaning of subchapter K of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)	One payment limitation per entity	Payment limitation multiplied by the number of eligible persons or entities that comprise the ownership of the QPT entity
S Corporation	One payment limitation per entity	Payment limitation multiplied by the number of eligible persons or entities that comprise the ownership of the QPT entity
LLC that are not taxed as C Corporation	One payment limitation per entity	Payment limitation multiplied by the number of eligible persons or entities that comprise the ownership of the QPT entity

As noted in Table 1, for LLCs that elect to be taxed as C corporations, the payment limitation remains unchanged. These entities continue to be limited to one payment limitation per entity.

The new QPT entity provisions are effective for the 2026 program year. As a one-time exception, for the 2026 program year, USDA will determine an operation’s business structure based on its organization status as of September 15, 2026. Beginning with the 2027 program year, the business structure determination date will revert to the standard June 1.

Example

Consider a family farming operation owned by four siblings, all of whom meet USDA’s eligibility requirements. Table 2 summarizes the changes in payment limitations under different business structures for this family operation before and after OBBBA.

Under the 2026 payment limitation of $164,000 per eligible person for the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs, a family farm operating as a QPT LLC or S corporation may increase its maximum USDA payment eligibility from $164,000 to $656,000, while retaining the liability protection offered by these business structures. Importantly, while the changes in OBBBA make each member of this farm eligible for their own separate payment limitation, it does not guarantee a payment. Payments are still a function of losses incurred.

Table 2. Payment Limitation Changes for a Family Farming Operation with Four Siblings Before and After the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)

	Before OBBBA	After OBBBA
General Partnership	Four payment limitations	Four payment limitations
Joint Venture	Four payment limitations	Four payment limitations
LLC* or S Corporation	One payment limitation	Four payment limitations

Why Does This Matter?

The new rules have the potential to substantially increase total USDA program payments for eligible farms organized as QPT LLCs or S corporations. USDA programs include ARC, PLC, and certain USDA disaster assistance programs.

Perhaps more importantly, producers no longer must choose between maximizing USDA program benefits and obtaining the liability protection offered by an LLC or S corporation. This new QPT entity treatment gives eligible operations greater flexibility to organize their business structures to meet liability protection, legal, tax, succession, and management objectives while maintaining eligibility for multiple payment limitations under USDA programs.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. Because every operation is unique, producers are encouraged to consult with their attorney, accountant, and crop insurance agent before making any changes.

Additional Information:

Ferrell, Shannon L., Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, and Bart L. Fischer. “Paved with Good Intentions: Unintended Impacts of Farm Bill Payment Limitations.” Southern Ag Today 4(19.4). May 9, 2024. 

Federal Register. Payment Limitation and Payment Eligibility. Department of Agriculture, Commodity Credit Corporation, 7 CFR Part 1400, [Docket ID FSA-2026-0100], RIN 0560-AI86. June 2, 2026. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/06/02/2026-11002/payment-limitation-and-payment-eligibility (accessed July 23, 2026).

Kristine A. Tidgren. USDA Issues New Payment Limitation and Eligibility Rules. Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation. Iowa State University. June 4, 2026. https://www.calt.iastate.edu/post/usda-issues-new-payment-limitation-and-eligibility-rules (accessed July 23, 2026).

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency. Payment Limitations. https://www.fsa.usda.gov/tools/informational/payment-eligibility/payment-limitations (accessed July 23, 2026).

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Recommended citation format: Liu, Yangxuan, and Michael R Langemeier. “OBBBA Levels the Playing Field for Different Farm Business Structures for USDA Payment Limitations.” Southern Ag Today 6(34.4). August 20, 2026. Permalink

The Senate Agriculture Committee is slated to markup The Agricultural Act of 2026 today (August 6, 2026), bringing Congress one step closer to long-anticipated passage of a new farm bill. During the markup, committee members propose, debate, and vote on amendments to legislation before sending it to the full Senate for consideration. The House passed its version of the farm bill, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, on April 30th. Once the Senate passes its version, the two chambers can establish a conference committee to resolve the differences between the two bills. Then, the conferenced bill will go back to the House and Senate for votes, and, if passed, will go to the President to be signed into law.

Although there are several steps to go before a new farm bill is enacted, the Senate Agriculture Committee markup is an important step in the right direction. While some farm bill programs are permanently authorized and would continue without new legislation, authorization of other programs expires and must be reauthorized to continue either in a new farm bill or an extension of the existing farm bill. The most recent farm bill, passed in 2018, has already been extended three times – this is the closest Congress has been to getting a new farm bill across the finish line since the expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill on September 30, 2023.

Table 1 highlights some of the farm bill changes proposed by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees and major policy differences between the two chambers’ farm bill text. Significant updates to farm safety net provisions were included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last summer; therefore, most changes in current legislation focus on other farm bill titles.

Table 1. Comparison of House-Passed and Senate-Proposed Farm Bill Provisions

Title	Provision	Current Law	House-Passed Bill	Senate-Proposed Bill
I – Commodities	Farm storage facility loans	USDA has authority to provide loans to producers of certain storable commodities to construct or upgrade storage and handling facilities.	Adds authority for USDA to provide loans for producers to construct or upgrade storage facilities for propane that is primarily used for agricultural production.	Adds the authority for USDA to provide loans for producers to construct or upgrade storage facilities for both propane and fertilizer that are primarily used for agricultural production.
I – Commodities	Livestock eligibility for USDA’s natural disaster assistance programs	Defines livestock eligible for USDA’s natural disaster assistance programs.	No comparable provision.	Expands the definition of livestock to include unweaned livestock for agricultural disaster assistance.
II – Conservation	Feral Swine Eradication and Control Program	The 2018 Farm Bill established the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program.	Codifies the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot as a program and increases funding for FY2025-FY2031 to $150 million. Requires NRCS and APHIS to contract with one or more land grant universities to assist with the program.	Codifies the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot as a program with the same funding increase as the House bill. Does not include the requirement to contract with land-grant universities.
III – Trade	Trade promotion program funding	Includes funding for trade promotion programs such as the Market Facilitation Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development Program (FMD).	Increases mandatory funding from $255 million to $500 million (FY2027), then $533 million annually (FY2028-FY2031).	Increases mandatory funding to $515 million (FY2027), then $533 million annually (FY2028-FY2031).
IV – Nutrition	Timing of state cost share for SNAP	Beginning FY2028, states must pay a share of SNAP benefit costs if their payment error rates are 6% or higher.	No change from current law.	Delays state cost share start to FY2029. Increases cost share rate for states whose error rate is still 10% or higher beginning FY2031.
V – Energy	Year-round sale of E15	Sale of E15 (a fuel blend of 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline) generally not permitted during summer months (June 1 to September 15).	No comparable provision. (In May, the House passed H.R. 1346 which would allow for the sale of E15 year-round)	Makes nationwide summer E15 sales permanently legal by amending the Reid vapor pressure requirements in the Clean Air Act.
XII – Miscellaneous	Standards for movement of livestock-derived products in interstate commerce (such as California’s Proposition 12)	No comparable provision.	Prohibits states from enacting or enforcing a production standard as a condition for sale or consumption on livestock-derived products not produced in that state.	No comparable provision.

It will be interesting to see whether the Senate Agriculture Committee votes to report the bill to the full Senate today. Will the recent additions to the Senate text (inclusion of year-round E15 and delays to state cost sharing for SNAP) gain enough Democrat support to pass the bill out of committee? Or will we see another extension of the 2018 Farm Bill as its expiration approaches at the end of September?

References:

Congressional Research Services. (2026, July 29). The 2026 Farm Bill: Comparison of the House and Senate Bills with Current Law. (CRS Report No. R48918) https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48918

Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, H.R. 7567, 119^th Congress (2026) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7567

The Agricultural Act of 2026, S. ___, 119^th Congress. (2026) https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/agricultural-act-of-2026-farm-bill-20

To amend the Clean Air Act with respect to the ethanol waiver for Reid Vapor Pressure under that Act, and for other purposes, H.R. 1346, 119^th Congress. (2026) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1346

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Recommended citation format: Stewart, Natalie. “Comparison of House and Senate Farm Bill Provisions Ahead of Today’s Senate Farm Bill Markup.” Southern Ag Today 6(32.4). August 6, 2026. Permalink