(Valley News Live) — North Dakota agriculture producers are expected to receive an estimated $721 million this month in payments for the 2025 crop year under the federal Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs, according to the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., held a roundtable Monday with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., at North Dakota State University, meeting with producers, commodity groups and agriculture researchers.
Why payments are increasing
The increased payments stem from provisions in the Working Families Tax Cut Act, also known as OB3, which raised ARC and PLC reference prices by 10% to 20%. Those changes go into full effect this month.
According to the senators’ offices, the updated reference prices resulted in an estimated increase of $456 million for North Dakota producers for the 2025 crop year, up from the roughly $265 million producers would have received without the law.
The law also included crop insurance affordability provisions from Hoeven’s FARMER Act, which are projected to provide more than $91 million in additional premium support for North Dakota producers in 2026, according to the NDSU Agricultural Risk Policy Center.
What officials are saying
“We made significant enhancements to the farm safety net in the Working Families Tax Cut Act, improving the affordability of crop insurance, strengthening livestock disaster programs and updating the counter-cyclical safety net so it reflects the actual cost of production,” Hoeven said. “This month, those policies come into full effect and deliver meaningful assistance to North Dakota producers, who are set to receive an estimated $721 million from ARC and PLC for the 2025 crop year.”
Boozman said farmer input shaped the law’s provisions.
“North Dakota farm families helped shape the Working Families Tax Cuts, and because we listened to their priorities, we made sure the law included enhancements to the farm safety net,” Boozman said. “Farmers will begin receiving those benefits this month, with North Dakota producers expected to receive $721 million in ARC and PLC payments — more than double what they would have received without this law.”
Looking ahead to the Farm Bill
Hoeven and Boozman are also working to advance a new Farm Bill, which the senators say would build on the law’s farm safety net provisions, support new market opportunities for producers and authorize year-round sale of E15 fuel.
The senators said they are also working with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to address concerns about foreign sugar imports affecting domestic sugar producers. Hoeven led a letter signed by 112 members of Congress calling for USTR action in support of the sugarbeet and sugarcane industry.
Hoeven’s office said the Senate’s farm bill also includes several provisions he authored, including increased Farm Service Agency loan limits, expanded eligibility for fertilizer storage infrastructure loans, matching grants for state soil health programs, mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef, and a crop insurance provision specific to producers affected by the Fargo-Moorhead Area Diversion project.
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