From the guide · The ARC/PLC Enrollment Checklist
FSA Form 578: Why Your Acreage Report Sets Your ARC/PLC Payment Shares
FSA Form 578 is your official acreage report — and the payment shares on your ARC/PLC contract have to match it. How the form works, and what to fix before sign-up.
Every year you tell FSA what’s planted where. That report — FSA Form 578, the Report of Acreage — becomes the official record of your crops and shares. When ARC/PLC sign-up comes around, the payment shares on your contract have to line up with it.
Why the acreage report decides payment shares
The ARC/PLC contract lists each producer’s payment share for each crop. Those shares should match your acreage report and your lease. For ARC-IC, the connection is even tighter: shares come straight from your FSA-578 and can’t be disputed.
The basic math: on cash-rent ground the tenant holds 100% and the owner 0%. On a crop-share lease the split follows the lease — 50/50, two-thirds/one-third, whatever you agreed.
What to check before your appointment
Pull your last FSA-578 and compare it against your leases, tract by tract. If a share on the contract doesn’t match the acreage report or the lease itself, sort it out now. All producers must agree to the shares, the county committee must see them as fair — and FSA won’t settle a dispute over shares. Agree on the split with your landowner before your appointment, so nobody is surprised when the payment comes.
Key takeaways
- FSA Form 578 is the official record of your crops and shares.
- ARC/PLC payment shares must match your 578 and your lease.
- For ARC-IC, shares come straight from the 578 — no disputes.
- Cash rent means tenant 100%, owner 0%; shares must be fair and agreed.
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.
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Base Acres, Explained: How They Set Your ARC/PLC Payment
ARC/PLC pay on base acres, not planted acres. What changed for 2026 and how to check your farm’s base.
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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.
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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 “FSA Form 578: Why Your Acreage Report Sets Your ARC/PLC Payment Shares” 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 base acres 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.