USA Rice Releases PLC Payment Calculator For 2021 Crop

By Jamison Cruce

USA Rice

Following the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement of the Market Year Average (MYA) prices for southern long and medium/short grain rice, USA Rice has released an updated Price Loss Coverage (PLC) payment calculator for the 2021 rice crop. This USA Rice-developed tool helps project potential rice PLC payments.

Users are able to input data to calculate payments, including base acres and payment yield. The MYA prices that will be used to calculate PLC assistance for long grain and southern medium/short grain are $13.60/cwt and $13.90/cwt, respectively. Commodity program payments are soon to be on the way to eligible farmers.

The MYA price for temperate japonica rice will be finalized and published in January 2023.

USA Rice has consistently advocated for the reauthorization and improvement of the PLC program as the primary tool that helps rice farmers manage their main risk, which is multi-year price declines. While the program does not make farmers whole, it is a strong safety net that provides farmers with modest support when they need it most.

“The Price Loss Coverage Program has traditionally provided a safety net for farmers who are contending with depressed prices, high costs of production, and thin margins,” said Curtis Berry, Mississippi rice farmer and chair of the USA Rice Farmers. “The assistance this program provides is welcomed as it continues to be crucial to the economic livelihood of many of our farmers, but improvements will be made in the next Farm Bill to ensure the PLC program remains relevant.”