FSA Programs Every Indiana Landowner Should Know: A Working Broker’s Guide

Written by: Hinnerk Wolters, Broker Published: 2026-05-11 · Last updated: 2026-06-18

The USDA Farm Service Agency runs programs that directly affect FSA programs Indiana farmland owners rely on for annual income, conservation contracts, and land value — and most landowners who lease their ground to a tenant have never reviewed their farm’s FSA record. That’s the gap this guide closes. The take: FSA programs aren’t just for operators. CRP contracts, commodity program elections, disaster assistance, and ownership records follow the land through every sale and estate transfer, and understanding what’s on file before a transaction begins puts you in a materially stronger position. By the time you finish reading, you’ll know which programs apply to your ground, what the key enrollment windows mean, and exactly what to ask when you call your county FSA office in Indiana.

What Does the Farm Service Agency Actually Do for Landowners Who Don’t Farm?

The USDA Farm Service Agency administers farm income support, conservation contracts, loan programs, and disaster assistance for every tract of U.S. agricultural land; the record for your ground is on file at the local county FSA office whether or not you’ve ever walked through the door. Every parcel in Indiana has a farm number that ties the land to its payment history, active contract status, and commodity program elections.

For landowners who lease their ground to a cash-rent tenant, the FSA records matter for reasons that go beyond the tenant’s daily operations. CRP annual payments go directly to you, the landowner, not to the operator. Program payment histories appear in appraisal income approaches. Active contracts follow the title through a sale. And if the ownership record at the FSA office is out of date after an estate transfer, a sale where nobody followed up, or any other change in title, payments can be misdirected and enrollment windows missed.

We work with absentee owners and heirs across Benton, Jasper, White, Newton, and Tippecanoe counties, and the single most common finding when we pull a farm’s FSA history is an ownership update that was never filed after the title changed. Requesting your farm history costs nothing and takes one phone call to your county FSA office.

How Does CRP Enrollment Work in Indiana, and What Should You Know About Your Contract?

Indiana’s Conservation Reserve Program contracts pay landowners annual rent to keep eligible cropland out of production for a set contract term — typically 10 to 15 years — and the program has enrolled significant acreage across the state’s northern and northwest counties. Newton, Benton, Jasper, and White counties have seen consistent CRP enrollment because drainage patterns and soil erodibility create high-scoring tracts under USDA’s Environmental Benefits Index.

Here’s what CRP looks like in practice for Indiana landowners:

CRP rental rates are set per county and per soil type, based on the maximum payment rate USDA establishes for those soil index values. If your contract is expiring and you’re deciding whether to re-enroll or return the ground to production, that calculation should compare the CRP rental rate against current cash rent benchmarks for the county and soil index, plus whatever input and equipment costs your tenant will absorb when the ground comes back into rotation.

What Are ARC and PLC, and Which Commodity Program Should Be Running on Your Ground?

ARC-County and PLC are the two main commodity support programs for enrolled Indiana cropland, and the right election between them depends on projected commodity prices, the farm’s yield history relative to the county average, and where we are in the commodity cycle. ARC-County pays when actual county farm revenue falls below a benchmark level based on Olympic average county yields and the national marketing year average price. PLC pays when the national marketing year average price falls below a statutory reference price set in the current Farm Bill.

Most Indiana landowners who lease on a cash-rent basis leave the ARC/PLC election to the tenant, and that’s a reasonable arrangement. What matters for you as the owner is that the election affects whether any commodity program payments are generated and what payment base is on record when a buyer, appraiser, or estate attorney reviews the farm’s income history. Understanding what election is running on your ground takes one question to your tenant or county FSA office.

What Is the Base Acre Review Window, and What Do Indiana Landowners Need to Do Before August 31?

USDA FSA is offering eligible landowners a window to review and potentially increase their farm’s base acres. According to FSA Administrator Bill Beam, it’s the first opportunity to add base acres since 2002.

Base acres are the enrollment foundation for ARC and PLC. They represent the historical cropland acreage tied to a farm’s commodity program history and determine the payment base for ARC-County and PLC calculations. For landowners who lease on cash rent, this detail often lives entirely on the operator’s side of the conversation — but the base acre record follows the land through sales, estate transfers, and future enrollment decisions.

The window runs June 1 through August 31, 2026, authorized by the Working Families Tax Cuts Act signed July 4, 2025. Here’s what to know:

Eligibility. A covered commodity must have been planted or prevented from being planted on the farm during the 2019 through 2023 crop years. The farm’s average planted and prevented-planted acres during that period must exceed the total existing base acres currently on record. Your farm operator is likely to have the historical planting records that establish this. Contact your tenant early — the deadline doesn’t flex.

How to access your Base Allocation Summary. FSA is mailing Base Allocation Summaries directly to eligible landowners beginning June 1, 2026. You can also access your summary online at fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc with a Login.gov account. If you haven’t received a mailing or don’t have online access, call your county FSA office and ask for your Base Allocation Summary by name.

What to do if you’re eligible. Review the summary. If a base acre increase applies to your operation and you want to proceed, complete the required steps with the FSA office before August 31. That’s a hard deadline with no extension mechanism announced at this time.

This is a time-sensitive item that most Indiana landowners won’t see again for a generation. If you received an FSA mailing this summer, don’t set it aside. If you’re not sure whether you qualify, a call to your county FSA office answers the question in about 10 minutes.

What Most Indiana Landowners Get Wrong About CRP and the Sale of Their Ground

Most Indiana landowners who own CRP-enrolled ground treat an active contract as a discount factor in negotiations, assuming buyers will see the production restriction as a problem to manage. Some buyers look at it the opposite way.

An active CRP contract with annual payments provides a predictable income stream with no input costs, no tenant coordination, and no exposure to commodity price swings. For buyers who are investors, conservation-minded purchasers, or estate planners who aren’t ready to actively manage a farm operation, a tract with five to eight years remaining on a CRP contract can be more attractive than bare ground returning to cash-rent rotation. The annual payment is fixed, guaranteed by USDA, and doesn’t depend on a good growing season.

What does create a problem is when a seller doesn’t know what contract is active, what the payment rate is, how many years remain, or whether the buyer has the 60-day successor-in-interest window to assume it. We’ve been in negotiations where a CRP contract was treated as a discount to the sale price because the seller hadn’t pulled the contract details before listing. When you know what you have, you can price and present it accurately. When you don’t, you’re negotiating against yourself.

The same principle applies at the county level. If your county’s current CRP rental rate for your soil type is competitive with cash rent, that’s a material fact in any sale or valuation conversation. Your county FSA office has that number.

How Do FSA Program Records Transfer When Indiana Ground Changes Hands?

When a tract sells or transfers through an estate, FSA program records stay connected to the land’s farm number. The new owner needs to file an ownership update with the county FSA office after taking title, and this step is easy to miss in transactions where the attorney, the broker, and the family are each focused on different pieces of the closing.

Items that need attention after any ownership change or estate transfer:

• CRP contract assumption. The buyer has 60 days to elect whether to assume an active contract. If they assume it, they step into the landowner role for the remaining term and collect subsequent annual payments. The purchase agreement should address this in writing, with both parties clear on the payment rate and remaining years.
• Payment redirection. CRP payments go to the owner of record at the FSA office. If the ownership update isn’t filed, payments continue going to the prior owner or estate. In settlements that stretch over months, this creates complications that are entirely avoidable.
• Commodity program elections. ARC and PLC payments go to the farm operator, not the landowner. After a transfer, the new tenant and new owner should work with the FSA office to confirm operator designation and election continuity for the current program year.
• FSA payment history for estate appraisal. The FSA office can provide a program payment history for the farm number. For estates with CRP-enrolled ground, this history is useful when establishing an income approach to valuation.

We’ve worked with heirs in Jasper, Carroll, and White counties who needed to sort out CRP contracts, commodity elections, and operator designations before the estate could distribute the land cleanly. None of it is complicated once you know what to look for. The county FSA office can walk you through the records.

What Other FSA Programs Affect Indiana Landowners and Their Tenants?

Beyond CRP and commodity programs, FSA administers several loan and disaster assistance programs that can affect your tenant’s financial position and, by extension, your lease relationship.

Emergency Loans: Available when a federally declared natural disaster affects a farming operation. If your tenant’s farm was hit by a flood, drought, or other declared event, an emergency loan may be in process. This affects their capacity to pay rent and their ability to invest in the next growing season’s inputs.

Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP): Compensates livestock producers for forage losses from drought or wildfire. Relevant for Indiana ground where tenants operate cow-calf or stocker programs on grazing land.

Beginning Farmer loans: FSA reserves specific allocations for operators who have been farming fewer than 10 years. If your buyer is a beginning farmer, FSA financing shapes what they can offer and what closing timeline they need. Knowing this at the start avoids surprises late in a transaction.

USDA Farm Bill reauthorization cycles: Program structure and payment rates for ARC, PLC, and CRP are set under Farm Bill authority. When a new Farm Bill is under negotiation, ARC/PLC election windows often open. Staying on your county FSA office’s contact list means you’ll be notified when signup windows are active.

FAQ: FSA Programs for Indiana Farmland Owners Answered

What is a farm number, and do I need one if I lease my ground to a tenant?

Every Indiana farmland parcel has a farm number assigned by the county FSA office, whether the owner farms it personally or leases to a tenant. The number ties your tract to its program payment history, active contracts, and current elections. You can request your farm number and full program history from the county FSA office at no charge. A phone call with the parcel address or your name is usually enough to pull the record.

Are CRP rental payments subject to self-employment tax?

CRP annual rental payments are taxable as ordinary income and are generally subject to self-employment tax for most landowners. The exception applies if you receive or are eligible to receive Social Security retirement or disability insurance benefits, per IRS Revenue Procedure 2001-23. If you’re unsure whether you qualify for the exception, your CPA should evaluate your specific situation before you file. Do not assume you’re exempt without confirming.

Can I sell Indiana farmland that has an active CRP contract?

Yes, and the buyer can assume the active contract within 60 days of closing under the FSA successor-in-interest rule. The buyer takes on the remaining term and collects subsequent annual payments. An active contract with remaining years is often a positive for the right buyer, not simply a complication to negotiate around. The purchase agreement should address the contract assumption clearly, and both parties should understand the payment rate and remaining term before closing.

What happens when I inherit farmland with an FSA contract I didn’t know about?

The CRP contract stays connected to the farm number and transfers to you as the new owner. You have the right to assume the contract and continue receiving annual payments, or in certain circumstances to request early termination. Early termination may require repaying a portion of the payments previously received. Call the county FSA office as soon as you take title to identify what’s active, what the remaining term is, and what your options are before making any decisions about the land.

Who receives ARC and PLC payments in a cash-rent arrangement?

Commodity program payments (ARC and PLC) go to the farm operator, which in a cash-rent arrangement is typically your tenant. The landowner receives fixed cash rent; the operator receives commodity support payments based on the farm’s payment history and active election. CRP is different: the landowner holds the conservation contract and receives the annual CRP payments directly, not the tenant.

How does the Environmental Benefits Index affect CRP enrollment chances for Indiana ground?

The EBI is the scoring system USDA FSA uses to rank competing tracts during general CRP signups. Higher scores go to ground with greater soil erodibility, proximity to waterways, wildlife habitat value, and air quality benefits. If your ground was declined in a prior general signup, an FSA agent can review your EBI components and identify whether adding a specific practice, such as a filter strip along a drainage ditch, might improve your score for the next signup window.

What is the base acre review window, and do I need to act before August 31, 2026?

USDA FSA opened a review window from June 1 to August 31, 2026 for eligible landowners to review and potentially increase their farm’s base acres — the first opportunity since 2002, according to FSA. Base acres are the enrollment foundation for ARC and PLC commodity programs. Eligibility requires that a covered commodity was planted or prevented from planting during 2019 through 2023, and that the farm’s average planted acres during that period exceeded existing base acres on record. FSA is mailing Base Allocation Summaries to eligible landowners; you can also access yours at fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc with a Login.gov account, or by contacting your county FSA office directly.

How do I find the county FSA office for my Indiana farmland?

The USDA Service Center locator at farmers.gov lists all Indiana FSA county offices with addresses, phone numbers, and hours. Most are co-located with NRCS in county Service Centers. For ground in Jasper County, contact the Jasper County FSA office directly. Ground that crosses county lines may require coordination with FSA offices in both counties.

Start With Your Farm’s FSA Record Before the Next Enrollment Window Opens

Any landowner can pull their farm’s program history directly from the county FSA office. Call the office for the county where the ground sits, give them the parcel address or your name, and ask for the farm number and a current program summary. It’s a free, 15-minute call that tells you what’s active, what’s expiring, and whether any ownership records need updating after a title change.

If you’d rather have us pull it and walk through it with you, we can do that too. Landowners who work with us on farm management or a listing can sign a simple authorization that lets us contact the FSA office on their behalf. We’ll get the program history, review it with you, and flag anything that affects your ground’s value or your tenant’s obligations. Either way, knowing what’s on file is the right place to start.

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About the author

Hinnerk Wolters is a broker at Hageman Realty. He works farmland, farm management, and complex agribusiness deals across Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Hinnerk holds an MS in Agribusiness from Purdue and an MBA from IU Kelley.

[Read more about Hinnerk at https://hagemanrealty.com/agent/hinnerk-wolters/.]