A Checklist for Smarter Farm Decisions
Questions to walk through with your agent beforeimportant choices are made.
Behindeach question are tools developed by Tilley to deliver fast, accurate answers so you can know,not guess.
STEP 1 – Gather data
❑ Pull your current CCC-866 andFSA-156EZ to confirm the base acres you have
❑ Finalize your 2026 planting intentions
❑ Use your 2025Summary of Insurance (SOI) as a starting pointfor2026 decisions
Step 2 – Build a budget and calculate a break-even
❑ Create a 2026budget, calculate your break-even ($/bushel) by crop, and project net income
❑ Determine the maximum amount you can lose in 2026
STEP 3
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Understand your potential federal farmprogram payments
❑ Know your projected 2025ARC or PLC payment, expected in October 2026
❑ Know your potential payout for ARC orPLC for 2026cropyear.(Sign-up delayedlikely to summer)
❑ Understand how Farm Bridge Assistance payments (start 2/28) and other programs affect your cash flow
STEP 4 – Optimizecrop insurancedecisions
❑ Optimize crop insurance with your agent, considerarea-based programs (ECO/SCO) with 80% premium subsidies and other recentprogram updates
❑ Understand your true coverage, identify any gaps or coverage overlaps with base policy, ECO/SCO, and ARC/PLC
STEP 5 – Make confident crop sales and marketing decisions
❑ Determine how many bushels you can confidently market, based on your crop insurance gaurantee
❑ Determine how much of your crop is sold, hedged, or still unprotected
❑ View projected revenue, factoring in what is sold, unsold, and any hedging gains or losses
STEP 6 – Ensure you are always bankable
❑ Keep key financial statements, including consolidated financial statements, stored in a shareable location
❑ Complete a financial scorecard that shows strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities to improve financial health
❑ Review options to restructure equipment debt to free up workingcapital for 2026, if needed