(a) An additional 30,000,000 base acres will be allocated to eligible farms for program year 2026. Owners will be notified by CCC and given the opportunity to elect to not receive the additional allocation no later than 90 days after the receipt of the notification. An owner may appeal a determination of ineligibility for an allocation of base acres by requesting a review of the accuracy of information contained in the notification by filing a written request to the County Committee within 30 calendar days after the notice is received. If an adverse decision is made by the County Committee, the owner may appeal the adverse decision to the FSA State Committee or the National Appeals Division, or request mediation.

(b) Effective beginning with the 2026 crop year, a farm is eligible to receive an allocation of base acres if, with respect to the farm, the 5-year average sum exceeds the total number of base acres on the farm. The 5-year average sum is the sum of:

(1) The 5-year average of:

(i) The acreage planted on the farm to all covered commodities for harvest, grazing, haying, silage or other similar purposes for the 2019 through 2023 crop years; and

(ii) Any acreage on the farm that the producers were prevented from planting during the 2019 through 2023 crop years to covered commodities because of drought, flood, or other natural disaster, or other condition beyond the control of the producers, as determined by CCC; plus

(2) The lesser of:

(i) 15 percent of the total acres on the farm; or

(ii) The 5-year average of:

(A) The acreage planted on the farm to eligible noncovered commodities for harvest, grazing, haying, silage, or other similar purposes for the 2019 through 2023 crop years; and

(B) Any acreage on the farm that the producers were prevented from planting during the 2019 through 2023 crop years to eligible noncovered commodities because of drought, flood, or other natural disaster, or other condition beyond the control of the producers, as determined by CCC.

(c) The total number of base acres for covered commodities, with respect to a farm, is the total number of base acres for covered commodities on the farm, excluding unassigned crop base, as in effect on September 30, 2024.

(d) If the 5-year average planted acreage of covered commodities for a farm is equal to zero, that farm is ineligible to receive an allocation of base acres.

(e) The number of base acres allocated to an eligible farm:

(1) Is equal to the difference obtained by subtracting the total amount of base acres for covered commodities on the farm, excluding unassigned crop base, from the amount determined in the 5-year average sum calculation; and

(2) Includes unassigned crop base.

(f) The allocation of additional base acres for covered commodities is in proportion to the ratio of:

(1) The 5-year average of:

(i) The acreage planted on the farm to each covered commodity for harvest, grazing, haying, silage, or other similar purposes for the 2019 through 2023 crop years; and

(ii) Any acreage on the farm that the producers were prevented from planting during the 2019 through 2023 crop years to that covered commodity because of drought, flood, or other natural disaster, or other condition beyond the control of the producers, as determined by CCC; to

(2) The 5-year average cropping history, as calculated in (b)(1). For the purpose of determining a 5-year acreage average, any crop year in which a covered commodity was not planted will not be excluded.

(g) For the purpose of determining the acreage on a farm that producers planted or were prevented from planting during the 2019 through 2023 crop years to covered commodities, if the acreage that was planted or prevented from being planted was devoted to another covered commodity in the same crop year (other than a covered commodity produced under an established practice of double cropping), the owner may elect the covered commodity to be used for that crop year in determining the 5-year average, but may not include both the initial covered commodity and the subsequent covered commodity.

(h) The allocation of additional base acres among covered commodities on a farm may not result in a total number of base acres for the farm in excess of the total number of acres on the farm according to § 1412.24 with the removal of the acres specified in (a)(2).

(i) Unassigned base will be converted to covered commodity base acres on farms eligible for additional base acres. The allocation of additional acres will first be applied on an acre-for-acre basis not to exceed total amount of additional allocation, converting unassigned base acres to specific covered commodity base acres. These converted acres are not counted toward the additional 30 million acres and are not subject to any pro-rata reduction.

(j) If the total number of eligible acres allocated to base acres across all farms in the United States would exceed 30,000,000 acres, CCC will apply an across-the-board, pro-rata reduction to the number of eligible acres to ensure the number of allocated base acres is equal to 30,000,000 acres.

(k) Beginning with crop year 2026, for the purpose of making PLC payments, FSA will establish payment yields for new base acres allocated equal to:

(1) The payment yield established on the farm for the applicable covered commodity; and

(2) If no such payment yield for the applicable covered commodity exists, a payment yield:

(i) Equal to the average payment yield for the covered commodity for the county in which the farm is situated; or

(ii) Equal to a yield for the covered commodity for similarly situated farms.

(l) In the case of a farm for which the owner on the date of base allocation eligibility notification was not the owner for the 2019 through 2023 crop years, CCC will use the planting history of the prior owner or owners of that farm for purposes of determining:

(1) Eligibility;

(2) Eligible acres; and

(3) The allocation of acres.

[91 FR 1055, Jan. 12, 2026]