Specialty Crops

Specialty crops include fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture nursery crops. Individual crop insurance programs are currently available for the following specialty crops:

In addition, Whole-Farm Revenue Protection provides a risk management safety net to all commodities, including specialty crops, under one insurance policy and is the first Federal crop insurance program to be available in every state and county in the United States. It is tailored for any farm with up to $8.5 million in insured revenue and includes farms with specialty or organic commodities (both crops and livestock), or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identity preserved, specialty, or direct markets.

Specialty crops are a priority at RMA, and federal crop insurance coverage for specialty crops has grown steadily over the past 15 years. In 2019, the amount of insurance for specialty crops totaled more than $18 billion.

RMA continues to communicate with producers and other interested parties to identify where there is a need to expand the availability of risk management products to producers. Expansion of products is generally made to growing areas where RMA is aware the crop exists, there is some history or experience of the crops’ performance, and there is significant grower interest in the product. See details on Expansions of Specialty Crops Programs.

If you have feedback on how we can improve coverage for specialty crops, please let us know at SpecialtyCrops@rma.usda.gov.

If you are interested in learning more about insuring your specialty crops, please contact your local RMA specialty crop insurance liaison from the list below:

Regional Office - Liaison

• Billings, MT – Steve Junghans
• Davis, CA – Thalia Barajas
• Jackson, MS – Derrick Johnson
• Oklahoma City, OK – Devin Lolles
• Raleigh, NC – William Barnes
• Spokane, WA – Nick Gans
• Springfield, IL – Adrienne McTaggart
• St. Paul, MN – Craig Christianson
• Topeka, KS – Amanda Whitehurst
• Valdosta, VA – Matthew Wilkin

• June 17 - July 28, 2020 – RMA will be conducting eight virtual listening sessions for apple growers to discuss proposed changes to the current Apple Crop Insurance Program. The listening sessions are scheduled by region; however, growers are welcome to attend any session that meets their scheduling needs. Each session will be attended by RMA representatives from Kansas City and the appropriate RMA Regional Office. During these sessions, RMA will present proposed changes to growers and ask for their comments. The feedback received will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed changes. Proposed changes to the policy are tentatively scheduled for the 2022 crop year.
  
  Dates for each session are listed in the table below. To receive a formal announcement for a listening session that contains detailed information including time, teleconference number, and how to access the session online, please contact your local RMA Regional Office specialty crop liaison.

Past Events

• Specialty Crops
• WFRP

• 2019 Specialty Crop Report
• Archived Annual Specialty Crop Reports