USDA Announces Updates to Crop Insurance Program for Pomegranates in California

DAVIS, Calif., Sept. 6, 2023 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is updating its Pomegranate crop insurance program, allowing producers to elect separate optional units for insuring their early and late types of pomegranates. These changes, implemented by the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), have been put in place to accommodate early and late varieties that have different risk periods.

“Pomegranates are most vulnerable during the period directly preceding harvest when they are susceptible to splitting and other quality issues,” said Jeffrey Yasui, RMA Davis Regional Office Director. “Producers will now have the opportunity to elect separate coverage levels and price election percentages for each type, giving them the opportunity to better tailor their insurance coverage to meet their risk management needs.”

Allowing optional units to be assigned by type lets claims be adjusted based on the different insurance period dates, expanding the timely loss determinations on a type basis.

Features of the Pomegranate crop insurance program are:

• Pomegranate insurance is a multi-peril actual production history (APH) coverage policy offered in eight contiguous counties in California’s Central Valley where 98 percent of all U.S. pomegranates are grown.
• The program was first made available for the 2023 crop year and provides producers with protection against yield losses for weather, natural, and environmental perils.
• The program currently offers coverage levels between 50 and 85 percent and a catastrophic coverage option.

The sales closing date for the 2024 crop year is November 20, 2023.

More Information

Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers and online at the RMA Agent Locator. Learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov or by contacting your RMA Regional Office.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.

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