USDA is adding 30 million acres to the farm safety net, with North and South Dakota among the states receiving some of the largest increases. It is the first major expansion of commodity program base acres in more than 20 years. USDA Farm Production and Conservation Under Secretary Richard Fordyce said eligible acreage nationwide came in only slightly above the 30-million-acre limit, resulting in a 3.69 percent prorated reduction. “If you had 100 acres of eligible new base, we had to reduce that by 3.69. So you would have 96.31 acres of that total 100-acre eligibility.” The additional acres become eligible for ARC and PLC beginning with the 2026 crop year.
