This part specifies how base acres and farm program payment yields are established or adjusted for the purpose of calculating payments for agriculture risk coverage (ARC) and price loss coverage (PLC) for covered commodities: Wheat, oats, and barley (including wheat, oats, and barley used for haying and grazing); corn; grain sorghum; long grain rice; medium grain rice; seed cotton; pulse crops; soybeans; other oilseeds; and peanuts. This part specifies how and when producers on a farm may make a one-time election on a farm to obtain either ARC or PLC (and if ARC, whether to receive ARC payments based on county coverage applicable on a covered commodity-by-commodity basis; or individual coverage applicable to all the covered commodities on a farm).

For crop year 2018, this part specifies how:

Generic base acres are allocated to seed cotton base acres and unassigned base acres (generic base acres are not in effect for crop year 2018);

A payment yield for seed cotton base acres is established;

An election is made on seed cotton base acres; and

Contracts are enrolled with seed cotton base acres.

Payments otherwise provided for in this part are subject to changes made by law in rates, conditions, and eligibility notwithstanding any contract or application made under this part. However, any such modification may, as determined by CCC, allow producers the opportunity to withdraw their ARC or PLC contract.

If any refund is due to CCC under this part, interest will be due from the date of the CCC disbursement except as determined by CCC. The provisions of this section will apply notwithstanding any other provision of this or any other part. In order to receive payment under this part a participant is required to comply with the regulations in this part and any additional requirements imposed by the ARC or PLC contract.

For ARC and PLC, assistance under this part will be based on the administrative county of the farm.