Significant PLC Payment Slated for This Fall
Farmers have spent the last several years squeezed between rising input costs and stubborn prices. For years, a top priority of the association has been strengthening the reference price for wheat, and this fall, farmers will see that work show up where it matters most: their bank account.
USDA has officially published the wheat MYAP for the 2025/2026 crop year. The final figure was set at $5.06, meaning wheat farmers receiving a PLC payment can expect $1.29 per bushel. The payment will be subject to existing payment limits, calculated using established PLC yields, paid on 85% of base acres and reduced by the required sequestration. While farmers are automatically eligible for the higher of the ARC-CO or PLC payment for the 2025 crop year, it is very likely the PLC payment will be the most beneficial.
Back in the earliest days of farm bill renewal discussions, Texas leaders were active in pushing for increased reference prices. As a director on the National Association of Wheat Growers, Freddie Streit, of Vernon, was the first to introduce a motion directing staff to push for increased reference prices. As the organization’s 2023 Farm Bill priorities came into focus, the increased reference price remained at the top of the list. While these efforts were one voice among many nationally, it was there early, and it stayed consistent through years of negotiation before landing in last summer’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
How will this payment compare to prior years?
Looking back, the payment rate for 2026 will be the most significant since 2016. The PLC program provided significant support for wheat growers beginning with the 2015 crop, but that support eroded over time as the cost of production rose without additional support to match it. This fall’s payment reflects the first real correction to that erosion.
PLC Payment Rate History
| Wheat Crop | Reference Price | MYAP | Payment Rate |
| 2014 | $5.50 | $5.99 | $ – |
| 2015 | $5.50 | $4.89 | $0.61 |
| 2016 | $5.50 | $3.89 | $1.61 |
| 2017 | $5.50 | $4.72 | $0.78 |
| 2018 | $5.50 | $5.16 | $0.34 |
| 2019 | $5.50 | $4.58 | $0.92 |
| 2020 | $5.50 | $5.05 | $0.45 |
| 2021 | $5.50 | $7.63 | $ – |
| 2022 | $5.50 | $8.83 | $ – |
| 2023 | $5.50 | $6.96 | $ – |
| 2024 | $5.50 | $5.52 | $ – |
| 2025 | $6.35 | $5.06 | $ 1.29 |
Long-term, stable improvements to the farm safety net, like this increase in the PLC reference price, will remain a top priority for the association. Farmer leaders recognize the importance of a predictable safety net. They understand that when every choice on the farm includes risk, you need programs that you can make decisions and bank on, not one that quietly loses ground year after year.
Other key farm policy improvements that will benefit Texas farmers include:
- Effective reference price improved and now calculates at 88% of the Olympic average instead of 85%.
- Beginning with the 2031 crop year, statutory reference prices are indexed and will increase 0.5% annually over the previous year, capped at 113% growth.
- One-time voluntary base acre increase based on recent plantings, capped at 30 million acres nationwide.
- Payment limit increased from $125,000 to $155,000 and indexed to inflation to allow for future growth.
