From the guide · The ARC/PLC Enrollment Checklist
Base Acres, Explained: How They Set Your ARC/PLC Payment
ARC and PLC pay on base acres — not the acres you planted this year. What base acres are, what changed for 2026, and how to check yours.
Here’s the first thing to unlearn about ARC and PLC: they don’t pay on what you planted this year. They pay on base acres — the historical crop acres FSA has on record for each farm. More base, more payment potential. Wrong base, wrong payment.
Base acres, not planted acres
You don’t have to plant the crop to be paid on its base acres. But you do have to enroll all of a crop’s base acres on a farm — not part of them. And there’s a floor: if your base totals 10 acres or less across all farms, you can’t be paid, with exceptions for beginning, veteran, limited-resource and socially disadvantaged farmers. Base on ground planted entirely to grass or pasture from 2009 through 2017 stays on the farm record but isn’t paid.
The 2026 shake-up: 30 million new base acres
For 2026, USDA added more than 30 million new base acres — the first base acre increase in 20 years. New base was cut 3.69% across the board because requests passed the cap, so the numbers moved on nearly every farm. Here’s the catch for tenants: FSA mailed Base Allocation Summaries to landowners, not tenants. If you rent, ask each owner — or your FSA office — for the updated base and yields before you choose ARC or PLC.
Key takeaways
- ARC/PLC pay on base acres, not this year’s planted acres.
- Enroll all of a crop’s base acres on a farm — not part.
- 2026 added 30M+ base acres; check yours — summaries went to owners, not tenants.
- 10 acres or less of total base generally means no payment.
Want the full guide?
This article is a short read drawn from The ARC/PLC Enrollment Checklist — 7 lease details to have ready before the Dec 11 sign-up deadline, plus a farm-by-farm worksheet and an eight-week game plan.
Read the full free guide →Source: adapted from The ARC/PLC Enrollment Checklist (Oaken, free ebook). Educational only — not legal, tax or financial advice.
More from this guide
AD-1026: The Conservation Form You Need Before ARC/PLC Pays
AD-1026 certifies your conservation compliance for ARC/PLC. What it covers, when to update it, and the tiling mistake to avoid.
Read article →
FSA Form 578: Why Your Acreage Report Sets Your ARC/PLC Payment Shares
Your acreage report sets your ARC/PLC payment shares. How FSA Form 578 works and what to fix before sign-up.
Read article →
FSA Farm Numbers and Tract Numbers: Match Your Lease to the Right Farm
FSA enrolls by farm number — your lease doesn’t. How to match leases to farm and tract numbers.
Read article →
ARC vs. PLC in 2026: Which Program Fits Your Farm?
ARC-CO, PLC or ARC-IC for 2026? The plain-language difference and how your lease shapes the choice.
Read article →Free guide
Get the full guide, free.
Get The ARC/PLC Enrollment Checklist, the complete guide behind this article:
- The full free guide this article came from
- The 7 lease details FSA asks about, one by one
- Farm-by-farm worksheet and eight-week game plan
Questions, answered.
Where does “Base Acres, Explained: How They Set Your ARC/PLC Payment” come from?
This article is a short, plain-language read drawn from The ARC/PLC Enrollment Checklist, a free guide from Oaken. The full guide goes deeper, with the seven lease details, a farm-by-farm worksheet and an eight-week game plan. It is linked on this page.
Is this article legal or tax advice?
No. This article is educational and explains the records and forms FSA asks for. Program rules can change, and your county FSA office makes the final call on your farm.
What should I read next?
Start with the other articles from The ARC/PLC Enrollment Checklist — each one covers one piece of sign-up, from conservation forms to acreage reports to the ARC vs. PLC choice. Then bring the checklist to your FSA appointment.
See every lease, payment and landowner in one place.
Book a 15-minute conversation and bring a sample lease or your lease list — we’ll show you how the seven details on this checklist line up for your farms.