USDA Unveils New Crop Insurance Product: Whole-Farm Protection Insurance

Specialty crop farmers, organic farmers and diversified producers will now be able to purchase the protection of crop insurance as part of a Whole-Farm Revenue Protection insurance policy.  “Crop insurance options continue to adapt to meet the farm safety net needs of today’s farmers,” said Risk Management Agency (RMA) Administrator Brandon Willis.

Whole-Farm Revenue Protection, passed as part of the 2014 Farm Bill, will offer fruit and vegetable growers and producers with diversified farms selling commodities to wholesale markets, local and regional markets, farm identity preserved markets, or direct markets, more flexible, affordable risk management coverage options.  “Whole-Farm Protection insurance will expand options for specialty crop, organic and diversified crop producers, allowing them to insure all the crops at once instead of one commodity at a time,” noted Willis.

The new policy will offer a whole-farm premium discount to farms with two or more commodities as long as minimum diversification requirements are met.  This will provide diversified farms a higher premium discount that previously available.  The policies will also allow farmers to insure all crops and livestock under one insurance policy in lieu of insuring each commodity separately.

Willis noted that the new policy, as part of the overall 2014 Farm Bill, will build on historic economic gains in rural America over the next five years while also achieving billions of dollars of savings for taxpayers.