William “Bill” Beam, administrator with the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) outlined several provisions at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference that could provide additional support and flexibility for peanut producers. Beam highlighted changes involving base acres, reference prices, payment limits, Marketing Assistance Loans and the agency’s efforts to modernize its record keeping systems.
One significant change is the addition of 30 million new base acres nationwide through the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA). The additional base acres are intended to provide support to farms that previously did not have base acres. Landowners were notified of their potential allocations, which were based on plantings from 2019 through 2023.
Beam also discussed increased reference prices. Peanut reference prices increased from $536 per ton to $630 per ton, providing additional support under the farm programs. The higher reference price applies to the 2025 crop year, with payments beginning in fall 2026.
Payment limitations have also increased, moving from $125,000 to $155,000, with future adjustments tied to inflation. Beam noted that changes involving pass-through entities, including LLCs and S corporations, may allow eligible actively engaged partners to qualify for additional payment limits, although he cautioned producers to consider the broader implications of any entity changes.
For peanut growers, another important provision is the reauthorization of Marketing Assistance Loans (MALs) and Loan Deficiency Payments through 2031. The peanut loan rate increases to $390 per ton, providing additional operating capital while producers hold their crop for sale.
Beam also highlighted FSA’s “One Farmer, One File” initiative, which is designed to modernize acreage reporting and reduce paperwork. A new geospatial mapping system will allow producers to identify fields and crops electronically, with future phases expected to allow remote reporting and eventually pre-filled acreage reports using precision agriculture data.
The goal, Beam said, is to reduce administrative busywork while allowing FSA employees to spend more time working directly with farmers.
2026 Southern Peanut Growers Conference photo album