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Farm owners will have a rare chance to add acres of cropland previously not covered by federal safety net programs. Direct federal farm aid has been a priority for the Trump administration, but Nebraska extension educators say long-term solutions are needed to protect farmers in a waning commodity market.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act allows more “base acres” to be registered to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A base acre is assigned a crop – one of 22 covered commodities – based on what the farm has historically planted.
Base acres are used to calculate how much aid farmers receive under the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) programs, which subsidize a farmer’s income if a crop’s market price drops below a certain threshold or expected yearly revenue is not met at a county or farm level.
Brad Lubben, an extension educator, policy specialist and associate professor for the University of Nebraska Lincoln’s Department of Agricultural Economics, said the opportunity is a big one for the state’s farmers.
“[Nebraska] would be looking to add a substantial number of acres that would be eligible for farm program support, and that would expand the support and the financial security for Nebraska farmers,” Lubben said.
The number of base acres, what is planted on them and how much a farm typically produces is factored into an equation that determines how much farmers are paid. While farmers won’t get to update which crops are assigned to their base acres, adding base acres will increase the amount of cropland covered by federal revenue and price protection programs. Added base acres will be based on 2019-2023 planting data.
Because some farmers change or rotate crops, Lubben said the crop assigned to a base acre isn’t always the same as what is planted there.
“Producers are paid and supported based on this acreage that is reflective of what they grow, but not necessarily exactly what they grow today,” Lubben said.
With aid tied to base acres, Lubben said farmers would prefer that the support they receive keeps up with what they are planting.
According to UNL’s Center for Agricultural Profitability (CAP), Nebraska has 21 million acres of cropland, but only 15.89 million base acres. About 75% of cropland is covered by Farm Bill program payments like PLC and ARC.
A CAP article explains the shortfall. Some cropland acres don’t grow “covered commodities,” meaning they aren’t eligible for support payments. Farmers who rotate crops, such as those who grow wheat-fallow, likely had fewer crops in the ground the last time base acres were counted.
One of the article’s authors, extension educator and ag economist Jessica Groskopf, said adding base acres will shorten the gap between what farmers are planting and how much aid they receive.
“We would love to see that base acre increase, because the percentage of base acres that we have is relatively low as you look across the state,” Groskopf said.
Western Nebraska farmers grow fewer covered commodities and rotate crops more frequently. Groskopf said those factors mean the western part of the state has fewer base acres.
“If I'm in a corn soybean rotation, I have a higher probability of getting more base because I always have a covered commodity planted.” Groskopf said. “But as I move out of the central Corn Belt, we move into alternative crops -- or crops that require that fallow period, or historically, have required that fallow period -- so then we get less.”
Across the board, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act caps the total amount of added base acres in the U.S. at 30 million. Lubben said it’s likely that farm owners will only get to add a portion of their excess cropland acres.
Groskopf said World Trade Organization policy caused the U.S. to introduce base acres in the 1996 Farm Bill.
“We could no longer directly pay farmers for their production because it would distort trade,” Groskopf said. “If we are going to be members of the World Trade Organization, then we have to play by their rules. And this is one of the rules of the organization -- that we have to decouple payments from production.”
Groskopf also said payments based on base acres can help farmers project payment amounts, even when the market is uncertain.
The last time farm owners could change base acres was in 2014, and before that, in 2002. Because base acres are updated so infrequently, Lubben said relief payments can be out of sync with what crop producers are actually growing and selling.
“Many producers are growing more acres than what they have base on,” Lubben said. “So, they have good, strong federal farm supports on base acres, but they don't have much support on their other acres, except for federally supported crop insurance.”
Groskopf said most farmland owners likely support the choice to add base acres, but it’s only once piece of the farm aid puzzle.
“There are other programs -- like crop insurance, like marketing -- that are much more important to the daily business of farmers,” Groskopf said. “And while we want this tool to function, it's not the only tool that we can use to ensure that farm and ranch families survive.”
Lubben said base acre additions will help, but federal payments are not a full substitute for income. He estimates that on average, farmers would receive 80% of their expected payment yield.
“We pay on a fraction of this and a fraction of that, and it's not complete relief,” Lubben said. “Even as market prices go down and the farm program kicks in and helps out, it's not one-for-one. But it's certainly help, and it certainly is beneficial.”
The Trump administration approved a $12 billion farm aid package in December, and subsidy payments from ARC and PLC are also set to rise due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The maximum amount a farm is allowed to receive in federal aid rose from $125,000 per year to $155,000 per year.
While the direct aid is welcomed by farmers, Lubben said market-based solutions will provide long-term relief for those struggling with currently low crop prices and low demand.
“Every farmer, I think, would tell you they would much prefer to get income from the marketplace instead of from the government,” Lubben said. “But between farm program supports and the emergency or ad hoc assistance, there's been a substantial cash flow coming from the government.” Lubben cites beneficial trade deals and year-round E15 as potential policy solutions that could create more demand for U.S. grown crops and even out a tough situation for farmers.
“Producers would like to see the markets deliver, but even there, there are lots of policy questions,” Lubben said.
The USDA Farm Service Agency will handle base acre additions. Lubben said the chance to add base acres will likely take place during yearly ARC and PLC enrollment later this year.