USDA Expands, Improves Crop Insurance Program for Producers Using Controlled Environments

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2025 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expanding the Controlled Environment pilot crop insurance program to an additional 48 counties in 17 states for 2026 and succeeding crop years. The Controlled Environment program from USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is specifically for plants grown in fully enclosed controlled environments and provides coverage against plant diseases subject to destruction orders.

Additionally, RMA is making other improvements, including:

• Increasing the upper limit of coverage percentage from 75% to 85%.
• Providing coverage for quarantines, when certain qualifications are met.

“Expanding and improving the Controlled Environment program better aligns risk management tools with the needs of producers who grow in controlled environments, encouraging growth, innovation and viability within these sectors,” said RMA Acting Administrator Heather Manzano.

The Controlled Environment program is a dollar plan insurance policy, which bases the insured’s guarantee on inventory values reported by the producer. The policy provides coverage for unavoidable damage to plants grown in a controlled environment caused by the unknown introduction of a regulated plant disease or contamination at no fault of the producer, resulting in a destruction order or a quarantine, when certain qualifications are met.

The Controlled Environment program adds to other federal insurance products available to nursery and innovative agricultural producers by providing benefits that are not available under the other programs, such as:

• Offering crop insurance coverage through a simple application and policy renewal process similar to the Nursery Value Select (NVS) program.
• Offering new crop insurance coverage specific to the disease and contamination risk in controlled environment operations.
• Offering insurance for producer-selected plant categories that are specific to controlled environments.
• Allowing controlled environment operations to purchase controlled environment insurance to be purchased as a standalone policy or in conjunction with the NVS program.

The Controlled Environment program is available in select counties in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The sales closing date for 2026 coverage is either May 1, 2025, or Sept. 1, 2025, depending on location.

To learn more about the Controlled Environment crop insurance program, visit the Controlled Environment webpage, the Controlled Environment Ask the Expert or read through our frequently asked questions

More Information

Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available online at the RMA Agent Locator. Producers can learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov or by contacting their RMA Regional Office.

RMA secures the future of agriculture by providing world class risk management tools to rural America through Federal crop insurance and risk management education programs. RMA provides policies for more than 130 crops and is constantly working to adjust and create new policies based on producer needs and feedback.

###

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.