USDA Releases Crop Insurance Policy Data for Select Commodities

SPOKANE, Wash., Mar. 20, 2015 – The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced important 2015 crop year price data for farmers in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Farmers rely on the information to make decisions about their crop insurance coverage as part of their farm risk planning.

In addition to releasing this crop year’s projected prices and volatility factors, RMA made available malting barley additional value prices and additional price elections for select commodities. These crop prices are located on the prices tab in the RMA Actuarial Information Browser.

For producers who buy 2015 policies, the projected price or price election is used to determine the value of insurance protection. This price is multiplied by the producer’s actual production history and is then multiplied by the coverage level that the producer chooses. This can be 50-75 percent; and up to 85 percent for some commodities. Price and other election choices must be made by the sales closing date for the crop in a county.

More information on specific crop breakdowns for projected prices and volatility factors for Alaska and Pacific Northwest states is available on the RMA website.

Federal crop insurance policies are sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance companies and agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA service centers and on the RMA agent locator website. Farmers are encouraged to visit their crop insurance agent soon to learn specific details for the 2015 crop year.