Crop Insurance

FALL CROP YEAR 2015

2014 Farm Bill:
Below you will find a brief description of the new Farm Bill changes and one time decisions that need to be made by December. With so many changes and new options for farmers/ranchers, we are ready to assist you in any way we can!

Beginning Farmer & Rancher (BFR)- Offers benefits for customers who qualify as BFR, call us today and we will get started on seeing if you qualify for this new benefit!

Conservation Compliance Plan- Agricultural producers are reminded to consult with FSA/NRCS before breaking out new ground. To become compliant, producers must fill out and sign form AD-1026. Doing so without prior authorization may put your benefits in jeopardy.

One-Time Option to Reallocate Base Acres/Update Yields: The 2014 Farm Bill offers land owners the one-time option to reallocate its base acres of each farm as needed. There is also a one time option to update yields for each farm.
One-Time Decision ARC vs. PLC Enrollment- ARC (Co & Individual) and PLC are the new FSA programs you will have the one-time option to choose which program will most benefit each farm.
*We would like to assist you in deciding which program benefits you most in the upcoming sign up at FSA. Please give us a call anytime for assistance or information regarding ARC and PLC.*

Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO)- The new SCO Endorsement is available in select counties for wheat, grain sorghum, corn, soybeans, & cotton. This coverage is in addition to your current crop insurance policy. This endorsement is 65% subsidized. **SCO for winter wheat is available for the following counties for the 2015 crop year: Tom Green, Runnels, Coleman, Lamb, Lubbock, Hale, Floyd** The SPRING commodity counties available for SCO have not been released***  
Please call us for more information on this new endorsement from the 2014 Farm Bill.
 
STAX- Stacked Income Protection Plan- Provides protection against loss of revenue due to an area level production loss, a price decline or a combination of both. STAX is for upland cotton acres only. STAX is an additional area revenue plan that you may use alone or in combination with your crop insurance policy. *STAX is 80% subsidized *Covers 70-90% *Coverage may be elected in increments of 5% up to the full 20% (between 70-90%) * A protection factor will also need to be selected ranging from 80-120% *Indemnities are triggered based on the amount that the expected county revenue exceeds actual county revenue.
**Acres with SCO are not eligible for STAX**
We will begin quoting STAX as soon as our program becomes available, we will have more information on this endorsement closer to January.



Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI)
 Provides comprehensive protection against weather related causes of loss and other unavoidable perils. 
MPCI policy is a base for crop coverage, it must be purchased prior to planting, and the cost and coverage are determined by RMA according to yield history.
Revenue Protection- (RP)- Revenue protection policies insure producers against yield losses due to natural causes such as drought, excessive moisture, hail, wind, frost, insects and disease, and revenue losses caused by a change in the harvest price from the projected price. RP allows you to protect your input costs as well as your accumulated (up to 10 years) averaged yield.

Yield Protection-(YP)- Yield protections policies insure producers in the same manner as APH policies, except a projected price is used to determine insurance coverage. The Commodity Exchange Price Provisions- is used to establish a projected price as well as a harvested price, which runs off the futures market. The projected price is set for both RP & YP at an average calculated price starting August 15th- September 14th on the Kansas City Board of Trade contract month of July. The producer selects the percent of the projected price he or she wants to insure.
 
Enterprise Unit Discounts*- are available for both RP & YP. You must qualify for discounted options. Call us for more information on EU Discounts.
 
For information on what crops are insurable in each Texas county, click this link and it will show you! : http://www.rma.usda.gov/data/cropprograms.html
 
 
Pasture, Rangeland & Forage- (PRF)
The Pasture, Rangeland & Forage (PRF) program is designed as a risk management tool for pastureland and hayland in the U.S. PRF was designed for maximum flexibility. You are not required to insure all of your acres, but you cannot exceed the total number of grazing or haying acres you operate. PRF uses two separate provisions: the Rainfall Index Basic Provisions and the Vegetation Index Basic Provisions.
Annual Forage Plan:
Nap coverage for small grains in no longer available for the 2015 crop year. Now you must elect to insure with a CAT or buy-up coverage level Rainfall Index-Annual Forage Insurance Plan.
The rainfall index Annual Forage plan of insurance offers protection for annually planted crops used for feed or fodder. It is designed to insure against a decline in an index value that is based on the long term historical average precipitation for the same area over the same period.
It is similar to PRF, but is an annual crop verses perennial grasses.
All acreage of the crop is required to be insured. There are two growing seasons: Growing season 1: means annual forage planted on or after July 15 & on or before December 15th, the available intervals are from September 1st through March 31st.
Growing Season 2: means annual forage planted on or after December 15th and on or before July 15th of the same crop year, the available intervals are from March 1st- September 30th.
**Please call for more information on this Annual Forage Plan**
 
About Rainfall Index: The Rainfall Index uses data, from 1948 to present, supplied from NOAA. The data, which includes weather, satellite and radar information, is interpooled to approx. 12 by 12 mile grids that smooth the data. Losses are calculated based on the deviation from normal precipitation for the grid and index interval(s).

Causes of Loss- This policy does not directly measure crop production. Losses are only payable when the final grid index is less than your trigger grid index. 
To learn more about the Rainfall Index and Vegetation Index please click on this link: http://www.rma.usda.gov/policies/ri-vi/index.html