Hoeven: North Dakota Ag Producers to Receive an Estimated $721 Million This Month Under Enhanced ARC, PLC Reference Prices

FARGO, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today held a roundtable with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-Ark.) at North Dakota State University (NDSU) with producers, commodity groups and agriculture researchers. Hoeven invited Boozman to the state to hear directly from North Dakota farmers, ranchers, researchers and agri-businesses as the senators continue their efforts to: Advance the implementation of the farm safety net enhancements passed as part of the Working Families Tax Cut Act (WFTCA), also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3), which go into full effect this month. Under this legislation, reference prices for the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs were increased by 10 to 20 percent. As a result, North Dakota will receive an estimated $721 million this month in payments for the 2025 crop year under ARC and PLC, according to the Senate Agriculture Committee. The updated reference prices resulted in an estimated increase of $456 million for North Dakota producers in the 2025 crop year, up from the $265 million producers would have received without the WFTCA’s passage. This comes in addition to the improvements to crop insurance affordability from Hoeven’s FARMER Act provisions, which were included in WFTCA. This will provide more than $91 million in additional premium support for North Dakota producers in 2026, according to projections from the NDSU Agricultural Risk Policy Center. Pass the Farm Bill into law and ensure the final legislation includes key wins for agriculture producers from the Senate’s version of the bill. Hoeven and Boozman worked to ensure the Senate’s Farm Bill 2.0: Builds on and further strengthens the WFTCA farm safety net improvements. Supports the development of greater market opportunities for agriculture producers. Authorizes the year-round sale of E15. Working with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer to protect domestic sugar producers and push back on foreign nations dumping into the U.S. sugar market. Hoeven led a bipartisan, bicameral letter with 112 members of Congress calling for USTR to take action in support of the American sugarbeet and sugarcane industry and has been working with Ambassador Greer to move the investigation forward. “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. 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. In times of market uncertainty and increased input costs, those funds will make a real difference for our farmers,” said Senator Hoeven. “The Senate’s Farm Bill 2.0 builds on that good work and includes more than 100 bipartisan bills to support the long-term success of our farmers and ranchers. We will continue working to move this critical legislation forward and get it passed into law.” “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. 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. I’m pleased to continue working with Senator Hoeven to strengthen the future of American agriculture. Together, we’ve developed policies to support our farmers, and we’re not done. We’re committed to advancing Farm Bill 2.0 and securing additional farm assistance before the end of the year,” said Senator Boozman. Additionally, the Senate farm bill includes the following Hoeven-authored provisions: The PACE Act – Increases Farm Service Agency direct and guaranteed loan limits. The BINS Act – Adds fertilizer storage and handling infrastructure as eligible facilities under the Farm Storage Facility Loan Program. The SCALE Act – Provides matching grants to support state-led soil health and wildlife habitat programs, like Governor Armstrong’s Legacy Soil Health and Habitat Program. Prairie Dog Management – Provides greater certainty for grazing permittees by preventing prairie dog colonies from expanding beyond reasonable levels. MCOOL – Includes an amendment based on Hoeven-cosponsored legislation that requires mandatory country-of-origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef. Joint Chiefs Program – Reauthorizes the program, which has provided more than $3.2 million for partnerships with private landowners to help improve and restore grasslands in North Dakota. Farm Ownership and Improvement Act – Establishes a pilot program for pre-approval and pre-qualification of FSA Direct Farm Ownership loans. Dry Edible Beans Study – Authorizes USDA to study the potential inclusion of dry edible beans as a Title I commodity. Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) – Clarifies non-adult cattle weight categories by establishing in statute, payment categories for calves weighing less than 400 pounds and 400 pounds or more. Fargo-Moorhead Crop Insurance Fix – Protects producers impacted by operation of the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Project by excluding affected years from Actual Production History (APH) calculations. -###-