The country’s oat and rye producers can now benefit from revenue protection, a crop insurance option available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
After hearing directly from producers, USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) has expanded Small Grains Crop Provisions to now offer revenue protection for oats and rye for crop year 2023, which is already offered for barley and wheat.“
This enhanced coverage for oats and rye is a direct result of RMA listening to and prioritizing the requests and feedback we get from producers,” said RMA Administrator Marcia Bunger. “We are always striving to offer risk management options and opportunities that are in the best interest of the producers and extending revenue protection to include our oat and rye farmers helps us come closer to that goal and offers more equality among our small grain producers.”
Prior to this program change, RMA established prices for oats and rye up to 11 months prior to harvest. For the 2021 and 2022 crop years, oat prices increased about 30% during that time period, leaving oat producers with insurance coverage valued below the actual value of their crop. With this expanded revenue protection, the insurance coverage price would have risen to follow the higher oat prices, providing coverage that better reflects the value of the crop.
These change – to add oat and rye – took effect with a Nov. 25 final rule on the Federal Register.
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.
Source : usda.gov