2014 Farm Bill Improvements For Beginning, Limited Resource And Socially Disadvantaged Crop Farmers

By John Berry

Ag Marketing Educator

Now is the time to check with a certified crop insurance sales agent to get the facts on how these invaluable risk management tools fit your farm operations. Over the years farmers have been able to access an ever growing choice of crop insurance products. We now have improved risk management tools that can be used by our diverse and unique farm enterprises.

As each farmer considers the risks they face in the coming year, it is their individual responsibility to understand and implement available risk management tools. Farming is a fairly risky business – weather, pests, wildlife, and markets can be sources of concern. Remember, the sales closing date for most spring field crops is March 16, 2015. We need to have paperwork inplace by this deadline to ensure proper coverage for the 2015 season. Contact a crop insurance agent and start a conversation on what can be done to minimize the risks your family farm faces. Use the following list of crop insurance improvements to get this conversation started:

• More protection choices
• Improved Organic Protection

1. Organic elections availability for more crops
2. Extended organic price coverage for 2014;  to eight additional  crops (oats, peppermint, apricots, apples, blueberries, almonds, pears, and  grapes for juice) to a total of sixteen (producer has the option of using organic  or conventional prices)
3. RMA has removed the 5 percent premium surcharge for organic price    options

• New benefits for beginning farmers

1. Additional 10 percentage points of premium subsidy for additional coverage policies (buy-up) that have premium subsidy;
2. Exemption from paying the administrative fee for catastrophic (CAT) and additional coverage (buy up) level policies;
3. Use of the production history of farming operations, if BFs were previously involved in the decision making or physical activities; and
4. An increase in the substituted yield for yield adjustment, which allows a replacement of a low yield due to an insured cause of loss, from 60 to 80 percent of the applicable transitional yield (T-Yield) for the crop in the county.

• Benefit for farmers with limited resources

The administrative fee will be waived if you request it and if you qualify as a limited resource farmer (as defined by USDA at: http://www.lrftool.sc.egov.usda.gov/LRP_Definition.aspx.

• Improved whole farm revenue protection - Features include:

1. Covers all farm commodities including animal and animal products revenue including commodities purchased for resale (limit up to 50% of  total expected revenue) (no protection for timber forest, forest products and animals for sport, show or pets))
2. Coverage levels from 50 to 85% of expected revenue (covers min. market readiness costs)
3. Covers natural causes of loss and declining market prices within the insurance year
4. Premium subsidies vary from 55% to 80%.
5. Opportunity to also purchase MPCI Buy-Up policies for selected individual crops.

Source:psu.edu