The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expanding insurance options for farmers of specialty and organic crops, according to a release from the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA).
The changes, effective starting in the 2025 crop year, include the addition of enterprise units covering organic farming practices and extending enterprise unit eligibility to several crops.
According to a report by AM Best, enterprise units combine all acres of an insured crop in a county, rather than separating the acreages for insurance purposes. This structure can offer premium discounts due to the lower risk associated with geographic diversification. The RMA noted that larger enterprise units receive bigger discounts as they present less risk.
The RMA is extending enterprise units to include almonds, apples, and avocados in California; citrus in Arizona, California, and Texas; and figs, macadamia nuts, pears, prunes, and walnuts. Enterprise units will also be available for crops grown using organic practices, including alfalfa seed, almonds, apples, avocados in California; cabbage, canola, and citrus in Arizona, California, and Texas; coarse grains, cotton, extra-long staple cotton, dry beans, dry peas, figs, fresh market tomatoes, forage production, grass seed, macadamia nuts, millet, mint, mustard, pears, and potatoes in various states; and processing tomatoes, prunes, safflower, small grains, sunflower seed, and walnuts.
Non-adjoining parcels that qualify as optional units can now be included in enterprise units. Optional units based on organic growing practices will also be expanded to all remaining crops where the insurance structure is available and the organic method is insurable.
Additionally, insurance coverage is being expanded to younger almond trees, including those in their fifth leaf year, while coverage options for canola growers in South Dakota and Michigan are also increasing. Sunburned walnuts will now be eligible for indemnity payments through quality adjustments.
The final rules also eliminate written agreement requirements on new breaking acreage, reducing administrative burdens on growers and the delivery system.
Other changes include allowing indemnity payments to be issued electronically in certain circumstances and streamlining the "good farming practices" reconsideration process. Good farming practices are methods that allow a crop to reach maturity and produce at least the yield used to set the production guarantee or amount of insurance.
The new rules also clarify that producers must prove insurance history for an annual forage crop and meet the current double cropping requirements to receive a full prevented planting payment. This payment covers crops that aren’t in the ground by a final planting date and meet other eligibility requirements.
The USDA’s risk management division stated these updates are part of several revisions and expansions planned for this summer. Upcoming changes will include expanding shellfish policy and adding coverage options for grape growers, aiming to better serve specialty crop producers and reach a broader range of producers.
What are your thoughts on this story? Please feel free to share your comments below.
