Many farmers rely on crop insurance to help manage the risks of farming. Crop insurance is known for covering major commodity crops, however, there’s a new crop insurance policy that expands what commodities farmers can insure.
The policy is called Whole Farm Revenue Protection. While not yet well-known, Whole Farm is a great new tool for risk management. It insures the revenue of an entire operation and will cover crops and livestock that were uninsurable before. This can be valuable to farmers and ranchers who plant organic wheat or raise livestock.
Whole Farm rewards diversity by offering higher subsidy levels to producers with more commodities. For example, a farmer with corn, beans, hogs and cattle could qualify for an 80 percent subsidy on their policy. Whole Farm can also be stacked with other policies and will not interfere with multi-peril or hail insurance.
Similar to other crop insurances, farmers and ranchers work with their insurance agents to sign up for Whole Farm. To qualify, farmers must prove historic income, generally with five years of Schedule F records. No other tax return information is required.
There are a few restrictions. Whole Farm will only cover revenue from livestock up to $1 million. It will only cover animals that will be sold during the policy year; so it won’t cover calves meant for sale next year. It cannot insure rent from grasslands.
Ask your insurance agent about Whole Farm, a valuable new risk management opportunity for farmers and ranchers. The deadline to sign up is March 15.
