Farm Safety Net

The Farm Safety Net Isn’t Working.

Family farmers and ranchers are facing rising costs, volatile markets, and shrinking margins—but the policies meant to protect them haven’t kept pace. 

For decades, the farm safety net has served as a critical backstop. But today, it’s falling short. 

Incremental updates aren’t enough. Farmers need a modern safety net that actually reflects how agriculture works today. 

The Current System is Falling Short 

Today’s farm safety net is too often slow, inconsistent, and disconnected from the realities farmers face. The current Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage program options are based on a compromise struck by lawmakers during the 2014 Farm Bill negotiations. ARC and PLC are two different concepts that were watered down and joined together to solve the math problems of passing a farm bill through Congress. 

Many programs don’t reflect the true cost of production, leaving farmers underprotected when margins tighten. Support frequently arrives too late to make a meaningful difference. And too often, farmers are forced to rely on temporary, ad hoc disaster assistance instead of predictable, reliable policy. 

The result is a system that reacts to crises rather than preventing them. A patchwork approach to farm policy isn’t a real safety net. 

We Need a Modern Farm Safety Net

Farmers don’t need temporary fixes. They need a system they can count on. A modern farm safety net should: 

• Respond more quickly to changes in market conditions and input costs  
• Provide predictable support that reduces the need for emergency intervention  
• Reflect the true cost of production and the financial realities farmers face  
• Tools should be flexible enough to work across different commodities, regions, and farm sizes  
• Address broader market dynamics, including consolidation 
• Most importantly, it should give farmers the confidence to plan for the future. 

There Is a Better Path Forward 

Congress has an opportunity to rethink how the farm safety net works—and build something stronger. 

That means moving beyond short-term fixes and strengthening the core programs farmers rely on. It means creating more consistent and reliable disaster assistance so farmers aren’t left waiting on congressional action. And it means developing new tools that better address price volatility, rising costs, and supply and demand imbalances. 

One example is the Inventory Management Soil Enhancement Tool (IMSET) is a voluntary, flexible, farmer-focused risk management option that gives family farmers a practical way to respond to periods of low commodity prices while investing in the long-term health of their land. Learn more about IMSET using the fact sheet below.