Minnesota USDA Farm Service Agency to Hold 2025 Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage Election Webinar on Feb. 19

Feb 06, 2025

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Minnesota is holding a public Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) webinar with the University of Minnesota Extension on February 19, 2025. Farmers and others involved in agriculture will have an opportunity to learn more about the ARC/PLC programs and factors to consider when making elections for the 2025 crop year.

The ARC and PLC programs provide financial protections to farmers from substantial drops in crop prices or revenues and are vital economic safety nets for most American farms. Producers can elect coverage and enroll in crop-by-crop ARC-County or PLC, or ARC-Individual for the entire farm, for the 2025 crop year. Although election changes for 2025 are optional, enrollment (signed contract) is required for each year of the program. If a producer has a multi-year contract on the farm and makes an election change for 2025, it will be necessary to sign a new contract. The webinar will highlight program information and review coverage options.

USDA also reminds producers that ARC and PLC elections and enrollments can impact eligibility for some crop insurance products including Supplemental Coverage Option, Enhanced Coverage Option. The Risk Management Agency (RMA) final date to apply for crop insurance for the 2025 crop year is March 15, 2025, for corn, soybeans, beets, peas, small grains, and forage. For more crop insurance information Visit rma.usda.gov.

You can join the Minnesota FSA and University of Minnesota Extension ARC/PLC webinar through the following link:

Wednesday, February 19, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (CST) ARC/PLC Webinar for Minnesota

Click HERE to join the February 19, 10:00 a.m. Minnesota Webinar

Participants can register in advance at https://z.umn.edu/25FarmBill and can also register at the time of the webinar. Additionally, the webinar will be recorded and posted for future viewing. Persons with disabilities who require accommodations to participate in this meeting should contact Kristina Fast at 507-407-5003 by February 17 or dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunication relay services.

FSA is currently accepting applications for ARC/PLC enrollment through April 15, 2025.

Source : usda.gov

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.