WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 4, 2020 – Nursery Insurance is offered as part of the Federal crop insurance program in all 50 states. The Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture recently received authorization to offer a new alternative nursery insurance program, referred to as Nursery Value Select (NVS), in select states and counties alongside the current program. Watts and Associates, Inc. (W&A), a private economic consulting firm based in Billings, Montana, was contracted to conduct basic training for nursery stakeholders in these states on this new program to ensure understanding of the NVS program prior to sales beginning. W&A has completed nearly 100 contracts focused on crop insurance over the last 20 years.

W&A is hosting stakeholder training meetings in the following cities and locations:

• Mobile, AL (February 5, 2020 from 10:00 – 11:30 am at the Mobile County Extension Office, Jon Archer Agricultural Center 1070 Schillinger Rd., N. Mobile, AL);
• Tyler, TX (February 6, 2020 from 9:00 – 10:30 am at Homewood Suites, Magnolia Room, 3104 Golden Road, Tyler, TX);
• Denver, CO (February 18, 2020 from 10:00 – 11:30 am at Hampton Inn & Suites Denver/Airport-Gateway Park, 4310 Airport Way, Denver, CO);
• West Palm Beach, FL (February 20, 2020 from 9:00 – 10:30 am at the Palm Beach County Extension, Exhibit Hall A, 559 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach FL);
• Orlando, FL (February 21, 2020 from 9:00 – 10:30 am at the Mid-Florida Research and Education, Building B Auditorium, 2725 S Binion Rd, Apopka, FL);
• McMinnville, TN (March 24, 2020 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at the Tennessee State University Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center, 472 Cadillac Ln, McMinnville, TN); and
• Portland, OR (March 26, 2020 from 9:00 – 10:30 am at the Holiday Inn Portland Airport, 8439 NE Columbia Blvd, Portland, OR).

At each location, the meeting will be focused on providing a broad overview of the NVS pilot program and responding to participants’ questions. Each session will have an hour of program overview and instruction and half an hour of question and answer interaction. An online training session will be conducted on April 3 for stakeholders who cannot attend one of the on-site locations. The invitation to the online training session is as follows:

Topic: Nursery Value Select Training
Time: April 3, 2020 02:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/449566041?pwd=eWtLbXRySmxicVAyNDduY2ZlWWYxZz09
Meeting ID: 449 566 041
Password: 624932
Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 449 566 041
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/asGAgLEBh

USDA is making these sessions available to provide information regarding availability of the NVS program to nursery growers and stakeholders in the states where the program is being piloted. All stakeholders are welcome. The sessions will cover the following topics: application process, grower eligibility, plant categories, coverage levels, unit structure, covered practices, insurable risks, and any questions or concerns stakeholders may address. Anyone interested in nurseries or crop insurance is welcome to attend and we are particularly interested in sharing materials with producers, extension agents, crop association and crop insurance industry representatives. If you are unable to attend, but still interested, you can provide your input and request materials by email at rma.kc.nursery@usda.gov.