Policyholder Updates

What's New? 

As your Approved Insurance Provider (AIP), NAU Country takes pride in keeping you up-to-date on crop insurance changes. The following have been issued by the Risk Management Agency (RMA). We have provided a summary of each of the changes, but to find out more you can click on the link(s) below to be routed directly to the bulletin(s).

January 30, 2024

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) periodically receives inquiries from producers who are interested in WFRP and Micro Farm but are unable to find an agent willing to sell and service these policies. In 2022 and 2023, RMA conducted extensive outreach to directly educate producers, agents, and Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) about WFRP and Micro Farm. Over 2,000 people attended these events with feedback resulting in meaningful policy updates and an increase in Micro Farm sales. 

Despite these efforts, RMA continues to hear from producers who cannot find an agent who will sell and service WFRP or Micro Farm policy.

Pursuant to Section II (a)(3) of the Standard Reinsurance Agreement, WFRP and Micro Farm must be offered and marketed in all states, and AIPs must accept and approve applications from all eligible producers. AIPs may face penalties and liability if they or their agents knowingly deny service to an eligible producer.

To ensure producers can find agents willing to sell and service WFRP and Micro Farm, starting for the 2024 crop year, RMA will allow agents to voluntarily identify as a "WFRP and Micro Farm" agent.  

January 29, 2024

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors approved the expansion of the Nursery Value Select (NVS) crop insurance program beginning with the 2025 crop year. In addition, the Crop Provisions are being updated to include small clarifications for consistency with the Basic Provisions. 

NVS has two sales closing dates: May 1 in Gulf and Atlantic Coast States and West Virginia; and September 1 in all other states where the program is offered. Producers in "all other states" can transition from the Nursery Field Grown and Container (FG&C) program to NVS without a lapse in coverage by submitting the required NVS documentation by May 1, 2024. This will provide prorated coverage for the 2024 crop year from June 1, 2024, to September 30, 2024. For the 2025 crop year, producers must submit renewal documentation by September 1, 2024, for insurance to attach on October 1, 2025. 

November 15, 2023

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors approved changes to the Sesame pilot crop insurance program on November 16, 2023. The following changes are applicable for the 2024 and succeeding crop years:

  • Allow written agreements for sesame without geographical restrictions;
  • Update the cancellation and termination dates to be reflective of written agreements being expanded nationwide; and
  • Allow enterprise units in the actuarial documents.

November 15, 2023

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) amended the Sugar Beet Crop Provisions for the 2024 and succeeding crop years in states with a November 30 contract change date and for the 2025 and succeeding crop years in Imperial County, California, with the following changes:

  • Convert Early Harvest Adjustment to an option;
  • Increase the acreage threshold to trigger an adjustment for early harvest; and
  • Increase the Early Harvest Adjustment cap to accommodate a limited situation where the actual yield from early harvested acreage (prior to any adjustment) was already higher than the previous cap.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC)Board of Directors approved expansion of the Hemp crop insurance program, under section 508 (h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, on August 17, 2023.

Beginning with the 2024 crop year, the program will be available in 171 new counties in Missouri and South Dakota.

October 18, 2023

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) amended the Common Crop Insurance Policy (CCIP) Basic Provisions and Area Risk Protection Insurance (ARPI) Basic Provisions. The changes apply for the 2024 and succeeding crop years for the November 30, 2023, contract change date and for the 2025 crop year for crops with a contract change date prior to November 30, 2023. 

The changes in the CCIP and ARPI Basic Provisions clarify that an Approved Insurance Provider (AIP) may only cancel a policy with express written consent from FCIC in the CCIP and ARPI Basic Provisions. This change is consistent with the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) which prohibits any AIP from cancelling an eligible crop insurance policy held by a producer so long as the producer remains eligible and the AIP continues to write eligible crop insurance contracts within the State, except as authorized by FCIC.

A Final Rule with these changes was published in the Federal Register on October 18, 2023. FCIC invites you to submit comments on this rule through the close of business on December 13, 2023, at regulations.gov.

September 29, 2023

Click the RMA Bulletin link above to review the full announcement and additional referenced attachment (IS-23-002 - 2024 Livestock Price Reinsurance Agreement (LPRA) - Revised  Appendix II Exhibits V(b) and (c), Appendix IV, and Matrix)

On August 18, 2022, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors approved the Weaned Calf Protection (WCRP) program under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act. Features of the program effective for the 2024 and succeeding crop years include:

  • Actual Production History (APH) coverage for beef cow-calf producers in Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Texas;
  • Coverage for adverse weather, fire, wildlife, earthquake, volcanic eruption, disease (but not damage due to insufficient or improper application of disease control measures), other causes directly damaging pastures and other forms of grazing, calf death due to a covered peril occurring during the insurance period, and for revenue protection a change in harvest price from projected price;
  • Coverage levels between 50 and 85 percent, and catastrophic (CAT) coverage will be available; and
  • The sales closing date for the 2024 crop year is January 31, 2024.

The following documents will be available by close of business today on the Risk Management Agency (RMA) website at www.usda.gov/Policy-an-Procedure-Plans/Livestock-Insurance-Plans:

  • Weaned Calf Risk Protection Commodity Provisions (24-0805)
  • Weaned Calf Risk Protection Commodity Exchange Price Provisions (24-CEPP-0805)
  • Weaned Calf Risk Protection Insurance Standards Handbook (20805U)
  • Weaned Calf Risk Protection Loss Adjustment Standards Handbook (20805L)
  • Weaned Calf Risk Protection Regional Factors and Price Adjustment Factor Methodologies

September 1, 2023

Click the RMA Bulletin link above to review the full announcement and referenced attachment. 

For the Common Crop Insurance Policy and Area Risk Protection Insurance, the Risk Management Agency (RMA) approved 2023 CY harvest prices for insurance offers with a harvest price discovery period of August 1, 2023, through August 31, 2023. These values may be viewed in the attachment and on RMA’s Price Discovery portal, located here: prodwebnlb.rma.usda.gov/apps/PriceDiscovery.

These values will also be available at the following locations on RMA’s website by September 6, 2023:

August 31, 2023

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) issued Product Management Bulletin PM-23-035 on June 29, 2023, announcing changes to several policies under the APHCIT Final Rule. In reviewing the changes made in the APHCIT Final Rule, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) found some incorrect references and conflicting provisions that were not updated to accurately incorporate the changes, and a grammatical error was included in the amendatory instructions. A Correcting Amendment with these changes was published in the Federal Register on August 30, 2023, at regulations.gov.

Corrections in the Common Crop Insurance Policy (CCIP) Basic Provisions include:

  • Alphabetizing the definition of “organic standards”;
  • Allowing the Crop Provisions to provide exceptions to the production reporting date;
  • Removing references to subpart G; and
  • Ensuring the availability of enterprise units and whole farm units is shown only in the actuarial documents.

The Correcting Amendment removed references to subpart G and corrected references from “previous” year production to “current” year for consistency with the CCIP Basic Provisions, in the following Crop Provisions:

  • Arizona-California Citrus Crop Provisions;
  • California Avocado Crop Provisions;
  • Macadamia Nut Crop Provisions; and
  • Texas Citrus Fruit Crop Provisions.

Conforming changes were also made in the pilot Fresh Market Caneberry Crop Provisions.

The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill) included language to improve the effectiveness of WFRP. The Risk Management Agency (RMA) continues to solicit stakeholder recommendations. In response to feedback from local foods producers, grower organizations, and industry partners including approved insurance providers and agent organizations, RMA recommended changes to WFRP and Micro Farm to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors (Board).

On August 17, 2023, the Board approved the following changes to the WFRP plan of insurance and the Micro Farm program, applicable for the 2024 and succeeding policy years:

  • Allow all eligible producers to qualify for 80% and 85% coverage levels under WFRP.
  • Increase the subsidy for single commodity producers from the Basic Unit premium subsidy to the Enterprise Unit premium subsidy.
  • Allow the purchase of other FCIC reinsured policies at the catastrophic (CAT) coverage level.
    • Previously, the purchase of CAT policies was not allowed under WFRP.
      • The CAT policies will not be considered primary insurance under WFRP for the purposes of premium calculations.
    • Provides insureds an option to opt-out of all FCIC reinsured policies from becoming primary insurance for the purposes of premium calculations and claim settlement.
  • Revise the 180-day claim deferral for AIPs.
    • Move the date to start the 180-day deferral to the end of the insurance period.
      • Previously, the start date was the date a claim is submitted.
      • Allow for further deferral for commodities stored in a controlled atmosphere storage.
  • Allow insureds to purchase other FCIC reinsured policies at any coverage level in conjunction with Micro Farm.
    • Liability from all FCIC reinsured policies will not be considered for the purposes of premium calculation under Micro Farm.
  • Move the sales closing date for Micro Farm to 30 days after the county’s spring sales closing date.
  • Allow expanding operation adjustments under Micro Farm
    • Only physical expansion (e.g., added acres) will be allowed for adjustment purposes.
  • Add an option to Micro Farm that allows an insured to remove the lowest year of historic revenue for the purposes of calculating the expected value.
  • Allow vertically integrated entities to be eligible for Micro Farm.

On May 18, 2023, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors approved revisions to the Pomegranate crop insurance program under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act. Beginning with the 2024 crop year, optional units will be available by early and late types.

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) revised the Rainfall Index (RI) Common Policy and the Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) Crop Provisions for 2024 and succeeding crop years for the August 31, 2023, contract change date and for the 2025 crop year for insurance plans with a contract change date prior to August 31, 2023. The changes include:

PRF Crop Provisions:

  • Add bison to the definition of livestock and clarify livestock must be produced or maintained as part of an agriculture operation;
  • Clarify land should be suitable for haying or grazing at acreage reporting time; and
  • Add examples of ground cover that would make haying impractical.

RI Basic Provisions

  • Update organic provisions to make consistent with the National Organic Program; and
  • Modify language to match the Common Crop Insurance Policy (CCIP) Basic Provisions clarifying double cropping records when another policy has different requirements.

August 29, 2023

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors approved changes to the Florida Citrus Fruit crop insurance program, under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, on May 19, 2023.

  • Revise insurability requirements to reflect a 100-box/acre minimum in at least one of the three previous years for trees eight years and older, unless allowed by a determined yield;
  • Replace the term "Adverse Weather" with several named individual perils as insurable causes of loss and further define "wind excess";
  • Require notice within 30 days if the insured acreage is damaged by post-bloom fruit drop; and
  • Minor modifications were made to price calculations for specialty citrus due to the loss of relied upon data that had come from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and the receipt of additional juice type oranges dataset from the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC).
  • PM-23-045: Kiwifruit Crop Insurance Program Effective for the 2024 and Succeeding Crop Years

On February 17, 2023, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors approved the Kiwifruit Crop Insurance Program under 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act. Features of the program effective for the 2024 and succeeding crop years include:

  • Actual Production History (APH) coverage for irrigated fresh varieties of commercially grown kiwifruit in 12 counties in California: Butte, Fresno, Kings, Madera, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tulare, and Yuba;
  • Coverage for adverse weather, fire, earthquake, volcanic eruption, failure of irrigation water supply, insects, plant diseases, and insufficient number of chilling hours;
  • Coverage levels between 50 and 85 percent, with optional Catastrophic (CAT) coverage will be available; and
  • The sales closing date for the 2024 crop year is November 20, 2023.

On August 18, 2022, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors approved the Grapevine Crop Insurance program under 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act. Features of the program effective for the 2024 and succeeding crop years include:

  • Vine-based dollar amount of insurance that provides coverage for specific types of grafted grapevines in select counties in the states of: California, Idaho, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington;
  • Mortality coverage for vine losses in the event of freeze, hail, flood, fire, failure of irrigation water supply, insects, and plant diseases. No partial damage will be covered;
  • Coverage levels between 50 and 75 percent, with optional Catastrophic (CAT) coverage or the Occurrence Loss Option (OLO); and
  • The sales closing date for the 2024 crop year is November 1, 2023.

August 4, 2023

On July 21, 2023, the Risk Management Agency (RMA) issued MGR-23-002, Emergency Procedures for Crops Damaged by Excessive Rainfall and Catastrophic Flooding, authorizing emergency procedures for all counties in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Since the issuance of MGR-23-002, RMA has received requests for emergency procedures for an additional crop (Tobacco) as the impact of the excessive rainfall and catastrophic flooding has evolved.

 

August 2, 2023

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) revised the Pistachio Crop Provisions for the 2024 and succeeding crop years, with the following changes:

  • Allow insurance coverage for acreage with less than four years of production records with the use of new Transitional Yields (T-Yields);
  • Clarify simple average approved yield for Actual Production History (APH) databases containing T-Yields;
  • Clarify variability adjustments for APH databases; and
  • Allow assigned yields and temporary yields if allowed by the Special Provisions.

 

July 31, 2023

Farmers and ranchers are facing natural disasters in many parts of the nation causing catastrophic damage to crops. Concerns have been expressed about the requirement to pay crop insurance premiums timely to avoid accrual of interest.

The Common Crop Insurance Policy, Area Risk Protection Insurance Policy, Rainfall Index Plan Common Policy, Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Pilot Policy, and Livestock policies’ Basic Provisions state that interest will accrue starting the first day of the month, following issuance of the notice of premium due by the Approved Insurance Provider (AIP), provided that a minimum of 30 days has passed from the premium billing date.

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) recognizes the challenges America’s farmers and ranchers face in light of these natural disasters and will provide flexibilities to help farmers and ranchers throughout these challenging times.

 

July 21, 2023

Excessive rainfall has caused catastrophic flooding in the Northeast United States. The Risk Management Agency (RMA) recognizes the need for authorizing emergency procedures to streamline certain determinations, including the destruction of adulterated production, to accelerate the adjustment of losses and issuance of indemnity payments to crop insurance policyholders in impacted areas.

June 30, 2023

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors approved expansion of the Margin Protection (MP) crop insurance program, under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, on November 17, 2022. The MP Provisions are also being revised to clarify a producer with an MP policy cannot transfer their base policy to another insurance provider or cancel their base policy to obtain insurance from another insurance provider.

June 29, 2023

When provided in the actuarial documents, the HIP-WI Endorsement is available for both Catastrophic (CAT) and additional coverage for Common Crop Insurance Policy Basic Provisions policies. 

The following changes are applicable for the 2024 and succeeding crop years:

  • Added that for the initial year the Tropical Storm option is elected, coverage will not begin until the later of 14 days after the sales closing date or the end of the waiting period for the Underlying Policy also requires a similar waiting period. 
  • Clarified definition of "Weather Event" to indicate the conditions necessary to qualify as a hurricane or tropical storm.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) amended the Common Crop Insurance Policy (CCIP) Basic Provisions, Area Risk Protection Insurance (ARPI) Basic Provisions, and the General Administrative Regulations Subpart G - Actual Production History. The changes apply for the 2024 and succeeding crop years for the June 30, 2023, contract change date, and for the 2025 crop year for crops with a contract change date prior to the June 30, 2023. The changes include:

CCIP Basic Provisions:

  • Allow the Risk Management Agency (RMA) to expand Enterprise Units to specialty crops easily and efficiently in the future. 
  • Incorporate procedures that exclude acreage and the actual production from acreage that is damaged by an unavoidable uninsured fire and/or a third party when calculating the approved APH yield and production guarantee.
  • Incorporate existing guidance on prevented planting into the policy, clarify the added land ratio for prevented planting, and expand the eligible criteria for prevented planting coverage to include "destruction" of a producer's irrigation system from an insured cause of loss.
  • Incorporate existing same-year production reporting guidelines into the CCIP Basic Provisions to be consistent with the timing of claims (harvest). 
  • Incorporate High-Risk Alternate Coverage Endorsement (HR-ACE) into the CCIP Basic Provisions, providing producers with all their high-risk coverage options in the same place.

CCIP and ARPI Basic Provisions:

  • Update organic provisions to make them consistent with the National Organic Program.
  • Incorporate existing APH requirements from procedural language.
  • Clarify double cropping requirements when another policy has different requirements for records of acreage and production.

Subpart G:

  • Revised to indicate its applicability expires as this rule becomes effective in the CCIP Basic Provisions.

June 28, 2023

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) revised the Grass Seed Crop Provisions to allow enterprise units and optional units by type beginning with the 2024 crop year. RMA also clarified that a grass seed production contract must be provided by the acreage reporting date. 

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors approved changes to the Camelina pilot crop insurance program on May 18, 2023. The USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) is expanding coverage by allowing written agreements in select counties in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. In addition, to assist expansion by written agreement into the Great Plains, the fall planted practice will be offered in Harper County, Kansas. 

The following changes to the Camelina Crop Provision are applicable for the 2024 and succeeding crop years:

  • Allow for both fall-planted and spring-planted types throughout the Crop Provisions.
  • Add a June 30 contract change date.
  • Add a September 30 cancellation and termination dates for counties with a fall-planted type.
  • Allow written agreements in all counties of Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, and Washington; and select counties of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas

    April 28, 2023

    The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors (Board) approved revisions to the Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) - Fed Cattle plan of insurance under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act on February 17, 2022, and April 19, 2023. The FCIC Board also approved revisions to the Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) plans of insurance under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act on May 19, 2022, and April 19, 2023. Updates were also made to the Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP) program. The following revisions are applicable for the 2024 and succeeding crop years:

    Livestock Risk Protection changes include:

    • Modified the end of the sales period to 8:25 a.m. Central Time
    • For LRP-Fed Cattle, modified the price series to "Over 80% Choice".

    Gross Margin changes include:

    • Allowed producers to sign application for coverage ahead of sales period
    • Revised premium billing date to clarify multiple endorsements are purchased
    • Clarified policy terms
    • For LGM - Dairy, increased requirement for actual marketings from 75% to 85% of cumulative target marketings to match the Dairy Revenue Protection program
    • for LGM Cattle & Swine, modified the end of sales period to 8:25 a.m. Central Time.

    Dairy Revenue Protection changes include:

    • Updated form standards to conform with the required statements contained in the FCIC 24040 Document and Supplemental Standards Handbook (DSSH) required due process/ineligibility notification letters be sent to both the transferee and transferor.

    The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation's Board of Directors approved revisions to the Annual Forage plan of insurance under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act on February 17, 2023. The following changes are applicable for the 2024 and succeeding crop years:

    • Modified the number of growing seasons in a crop year to 12
    • Revised the acreage reporting dates and planting dates for new growing seasons
    • Expanded the "50% rule" to all counties in Kansas and Nebraska to allow a producer to have coverage in one of the last growing seasons and also be able to have coverage in one of the first growing seasons of the next crop year
    • Allowed producers to insure less than 100% of insurable acres
    • Revised the Dual Use Option availability for new growing seasons
    • Incorporated FAD-301 into the rainfall Index Basic Provisions

    April 24, 2023

    The Risk Management Agency (RMA) issued Product Management Bulletin PM-22-042 on June 30, 2022, announcing changes to several policies under the CIROC Final Rule. The Common Crop Insurance Provisions Basic Provisions, Area Risk Protection Insurance Basic Provisions, and 14 individual Crop Provisions were released at that time. The remaining regulatory Crop Provisions included the CIROC Final Rule and conforming changes in non-regulatory Crop Provisions were planned for public release by their respective contract change dates (CCD).

    This bulletin announces the final release from the CIROC Final Rule with Crop Provisions with an April 30, 2023, CCD.

      February 14, 2022

      When provided in the actuarial documents, the Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index (HIP-WI) Endorsement is available for both Catastrophic (CAT) and additional coverage for Common Crop Insurance Policy Basic Provisions policies.

      The following changes are applicable for the 2023 and succeeding crop years:

      • Added option for coverage for a tropical storm Weather Event.
      • Clarified the definition for "County Loss Trigger".
      • Added the definitions of "Final Rainfall Amount", "National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center", "Sustained Surface Wind", and "Weather Event".
      • Revised Section 9 to add that National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration interpolated gridded precipitation data will be used to calculate the Final Rainfall Amount.  

      November 30, 2022

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors approved changes to the PACE crop insurance program, under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, on August 18, 2022.

      The following changes are applicable for the 2023 and succeeding crop years:

      • PACE insurance option for corn has been expanded to most counties in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin where non-irrigated corn is insurable, in addition to the current select counties in Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Dakota. 
      • Clarifications were made to the definitions and/or explanations for units, prevented post-application, split application, PACE nitrogen report, total nitrogen application rate, notice of loss, and written agreement, where applicable. 

      November 29, 2022

      The Risk Management Agency (RMA) released provisions implementing contract-based features for the flue-cured tobacco program beginning with the 2021 crop year. These provisions were developed as part of a collaborative process with flue-cured tobacco stakeholders and have been positively received by flue-cured tobacco producers. 

      Based on feedback from producers and other stakeholders of other types of tobacco, RMA is expanding these contract provisions to the burley, dark air, fire cured, and Maryland tobacco types. These changes will help improve the integrity of the program for the additional tobacco types and make it more sustainable going forward.

      The following changes are applicable to the burley, dark air, fire cured, and Maryland types of tobacco for the 2023 and succeeding crop years:

      • RMA will issue separate price elections for contracted and non-contracted tobacco, reflecting the additional expected value of tobacco grown under contract.
      • Quality adjustment will only be available for the amount of tobacco grown under contract. 

      November 28, 2022

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) amended the Small Grains and the Processing Sweet Corn Crop Provisions:

      • Small Grains Crop Provisions were revised to expand revenue coverage to oats and rye, matching available coverage for barley and wheat. The changes will be effective for spring oats for the 2023 and succeeding crop years and for winter oats and rye for the 2024 and succeeding crop years. 
      • Processing Sweet Corn Crop Provisions were revised to extend the end of insurance period from September 20 to September 30 in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. This will benefit the producers in those states by providing them with an additional 10 days of coverage, consistent with the existing coverage for producers in Iowa. The changes will be effective for the 2023 and succeeding crop years.

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) amended the Sugar Beet Crop Provisions for the 2023 and succeeding crop years in states with a November 30 contract change date for the 2024 and succeeding crop years in Imperial County, California, with the following changes:

      • Incorporate stage guarantees and Stage Removal Option.

      The Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) instructed the Risk Management Agency (RMA) to offer the Stacked Income Protection Plan of Insurance (STAX) to upland cotton producers. STAX became effective for the 2015 crop year and is offered in all counties where insurance for upland cotton is available.

      For the 2023 and succeeding crop years, RMA is updating the STAX provisions to correct a reference in section 4(g) of the policy document.

      November 17, 2022

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors approved changes to the Silage Sorghum Endorsement, under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act on August 18, 2022.

      The following changes are applicable for the 2023 and succeeding crop years:

      • Convert the policy from pilot to permanent status; and 
      • Allow written agreements  

      November 14, 2022

      The Risk Management Agency (RMA) issued Product Management Bulletin PM-22-042 on June 30, 2022, announcing changes to several policies under the Crop Insurance Reporting and Other Changes (CIROC) Final Rule. The Common Crop Insurance Provisions, Area Risk Protection Insurance Basic Provisions, and 14 individual Crop Provisions were released at that time. The remaining regulatory Crop Provisions included in the CIROC Final Rule and conforming changes in non-regulatory Crop Provisions are planned for public release by their respective contract change dates (CCD).

      This bulletin announces the release of those Crop Provisions and procedures with a November 30, 2022, CCD including:

      • Cabbage Crop Provisions (23-0072)
      • Fresh Market Sweet Corn Crop Provisions (23-0044)
      • Sweet Potato Crop Provisions (23-0156)
      • Chile Pepper Crop Provisions (23-045)
      • Fresh Market Bean Crop Provisions (23-0105)

      October 27, 2022

      On August 18, 2022, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors approved the Pomegranate Crop Insurance Program, under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act. Features of the program effective for the 2023 and succeeding crop years in select California counties include:

      • Actual Production History (APH) coverage for irrigated fresh and processing pomegranate production in eight (8) counties in California's Central Valley: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare.
      • Coverage for adverse weather, fire, earthquake, volcanic eruption, failure of irrigation water supply, insects, and plant diseases.
      • Coverage levels between 50 and 85 percent, and catastrophic (CAT) coverage will be available.
      • Quality adjustment for fruit not sold as fresh.
      • The sales closing date for the 2023 crop year is December 31, 2022. The sales closing date for the subsequent crop years will be November 20, 2023.

      The Risk Management Agency (RMA) issued Product Management Bulletin PM-22-042 on June 30, 2022, announcing changes to several policies under the Crop Insurance Reporting and Other Changes (CIROC) Final Rule. The Common Crop Insurance Provisions, Area Risk Protection Insurance Basic Provisions, and 14 individual Crop Provisions were released at that time. The remaining regulatory Crop Provisions included in the CIROC Final Rule and conforming changes in non-regulatory Crop Provisions are planned for public release by their respective contract change dates (CCD).

      This bulletin announces the release of those Crop Provisions and procedures with an October 31, 2022, CCD including:

      • Olive Crop Provisions (23-OL-0501)
      • Pecan Revenue Crop Provisions (23-0020)
      • Pecan Revenue Fact Sheet
      • Prune Crop Provisions (23-0036)

      October 26, 2022

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) amended the Walnut Crop Provisions for the 2023 and succeeding crop years with the following changes:

      • Removed the minimum acreage requirement;
      • Clarified the specific method and timing of actions that will be taken if any circumstances occur that may reduce yields from previous levels; and
      • Added clarifying changes to match those from the Crop Insurance Reporting and Other Changes (CIROC) Final Rule, published in the Code of Federal Regulations on June 30, 2022. 

      August 31, 2022

      The Risk Management Agency (RMA) revised the Actual Revenue History (ARH) Pilot Endorsement, ARH Sweet Cherry Pilot Crop Provisions, and ARH Tart Cherry for Processing Pilot Crop Provisions. On May 18, 2022, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors approved the following changes for the 2023 and succeeding crop years:

      In the ARH Pilot Endorsement:

      • Allowed written agreements if included in the Crop Provisions.
      • Removed the Contract Changes section to rely on section 4 of the CCIP Basic Provisions

      In the ARH Sweet Cherry Pilot Crop Provisions:

      • Allowed written agreements.
      • Corrected the notification requirement for any production intended for direct marketing to apply 15 days prior to harvest, rather than 15 days prior to sale.

      In the ARH Tart Cherry for Processing Pilot Crop Provisions:

      • Allowed written agreements.
      • Clarified references to "the Endorsement," replacing it with "the ARH Endorsement".

      Throughout all three policies:

      • Clarified definitions
      • Aligned the section titles with the corresponding sections in the CCIP Basic Provisions. 

      On February 17, 2022, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors approved changes to the Actual Production History (APH) Caneberry crop insurance program under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act.

      The following changes are applicable for the 2023 and succeeding crop years:

      • Removes cut back, grow through, mow down, and new planting practices; and
      • Revises the minimum number of plants per acre for container practices.

      The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill) included provisions to improve the effectiveness of WFRP. Per the Farm Bill, the Risk Management Agency (RMA) has continued to solicit stakeholder recommendations. In response to stakeholders feedback from approved insurance providers, agent organizations, and producer groups, RMA recommended changes to WFRP to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors (Board). In addition, RMA worked with stakeholders to identify improvements to the Micro Farm program and recommended a change to that program to the Board.

      On August 18, 2022, the Board approved the following changes to the WFRP plan of insurance and the Micro Farm program, applicable for the 2023 and succeeding policy years:

      • Increase the maximum insurable revenue for WFRP from $8.5 to $17 million, allowing more producers to participate in the program;
      • Replace existing expense reporting procedures with a 40% reduction in expected revenue for commodities which cannot be planted due to insurable causes. This reduction results in a similar value to prevented planting payments for other FCIC reinsured programs the total amount of paperwork required for the policy;  
      • Adjust yield reporting requirements at the sales closing date to streamline record keeping and reduce overall paperwork; and
      • Increase the maximum approved revenue for the Micro Farm program from $100,000 to $350,000, addressing stakeholder concerns that the low maximum approved revenue was limiting access to Micro Farm for local foods producers.

      The Risk Management Agency (RMA) revised the Rainfall Index (RI) Common Policy and the Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) Crop Provisions for the 2023 and succeeding crop years with the following changes:

      • Add certified organic and transitional organic irrigated hay practices to PRF;
      • Revise and add several definitions to match definitions in the Common Crop Insurance Policy (CCIP) Basic Provisions; 
      • Clarify definitions of "expected grid index," "final grid index," and "index interval" to state the index intervals are based on a 24-hour period determined by the data;
      • Add language to allow corrections to insurance applications with missing social security numbers or employer identification numbers of a person with a substantial beneficial interest to match CCIP Basic Provisions;
      • Include the 30-day appeal deadline for good farming practices determinations;
      • Clarify the consequences of not providing acceptable records for policies with the intended use of haying or grazing; and 
      • Clarify livestock records must be maintained

      The Risk Management Agency (RMA) issued Product Management Bulletin PM-22-042 on June 30, 2022, announcing changes to several policies under the CIROC Final Rule. The Common Crop Insurance Provisions Basic Provisions, Area Risk Protection Insurance Basics, and 14 individual Crop Provisions were released at that time. The remaining regulatory Crop Provisions included in the CIROC Final Rule and conforming changes in non-regulatory Crop Provisions are planned for public release by their respective contract change dates (CCD).

      • Actual Revenue History Citrus Pilot Crop Provisions (24-0227-ARH Citrus)
      • Hawaii Tropical Fruit Crop Provisions (23-0255)
      • Pistachio Crop Provisions (23-0470)
      • Florida Citrus Fruit Crop Provisions Actual Production History (24-FCF)
      • Actual Production History Florida Citrus Fruit Crop Insurance Standards Handbook (FCIC-20650U)
      • Actual Production History Florida Citrus Fruit Loss Adjustment Standards Handbook (FCIC-20650L)

      June 30, 2022

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) amended the Common Crop Insurance Provisions Basic Provisions, Area Risk Protection Insurance Basic Provisions, and 20 individual Crop Provisions for the 2023 and succeeding crop years for June 30, 2022, contract change date and for the 2024 crop year for crops with a contract change date prior to June 30, 2022, with the following changes: 

      • Add a new marketing certification that allows producers to self-identify if they will not have disinterested third party (DTP) records and enables them to use their own supporting production records.
      • Allow producers to use their own records, thereby limiting the need for AIP preharvest appraisals as a supporting record.
      • Add new definitions for production reporting terms.
      • Add a new mid-season type for Florida Avocado Crop Provisions to better align insurance coverage with industry designations for early, mid, and late season growing practices and harvest periods.
      • Explain how to adjust the approved APH yield when a producer changes the production method used on the insured acreage.
      • Explicitly list the 30-day appeal deadline for good farming practice determinations.
      • Clarify where a producer can find information in the policy (e.g., specifying “Special Provisions” versus “actuarial documents”).
      • Incorporate general clarifications and corrections throughout Crop Provisions, including updating terminology for consistency, updating dates, states, and prices in examples, clarifying definitions, removing duplications, and correcting grammar or spelling.

      June 29, 2022

      The Commodity Exchange Price Provisions (CEPP) are used in conjunction with either the Common Crop Insurance Policy Basic Provisions or the Area Risk Protection Insurance Basic Provisions, along with Crop Provisions for the following: barley, canola/rapeseed, corn, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, sunflowers, and wheat.

      • Section I: General Information. This section contains information relevant for all applicable crops, including definitions and common policy materials.
      • Section II: Price Definitions. These sections contain crop-specific projected and harvest price definitions and specifications, including commodity exchanges, contracts, and discovery periods.

      June 27, 2022

      The Risk Management Agency (RMA) revised the Grass Seed Crop Provisions to clarify how producers can use prices from their production contracts for crop insurance purposes. Specifically, if producers have multiple contracts with different prices, the clarifications illustrate how to calculate a weighted average price. RMA also increased the maximum contract price factor from 1.20 to 1.60 and moved the factor to the actuarial documents so that it can be updated more easily in the future.

      When provided in the actuarial documents, the Hurricane Insurance Protection - Wind Index (HIP-WI) Endorsement is available for both Catastrophic (CAT) and additional coverage for Common Crop Insurance Policy Basic Provisions policies in counties near the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, and Hawaii.

      The following changes are applicable for the 2023 and succeeding crop years:

      • Revision of the definition of “Hurricane coverage range”;
      • Clarification that the coverage provided by the Endorsement may be combined with other endorsements that do not duplicate the coverage of HIP-WI, and is not limited to the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) Endorsement and the Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX); and
      • Revision to clarify that other endorsements not limited to SCO and STAX may be used to calculate the Hurricane Protection Amount.

      The Risk Management Agency (RMA revised the Malting Barley Endorsement to make the following clarifications for the 2023 and succeeding crop years:

      • Throughout Crop Provisions, changed “fall” to “winter” to be consistent with terminology in the Small Grains Crop Provisions.
      • Clarified the definition of “local market price” to ensure the local market price applies to malting barley accepted at a reduced price (in addition to rejections) for failing to meet contract or Special Provisions specifications, as applicable; and
      • Limited minimum calculated indemnity to zero in section 8(a)(6).

      April 29, 2022

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation's Board of Directors (Board) approved revisions to the Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP) plan of insurance, under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, on February 17, 2022. The following revisions are applicable for the 2023 and succeeding crop years:

      • Allow sales to be suspended during the sales period for situations that arise during the sales period in which market conditions adversely change after the fact.
      • Add flexibility to continue coverage when producers experience a disaster at their dairy operation. The insured can use the milk marketing records as of the date of the disaster to determine the milk produced for the rest of the insurance period or use prior milk marketing records if the disaster occurs prior to the start of the insurance period.
      • Revised the policy to clarify that the termination date is June 30. Cancellation during a crop year to submit an application for another DRP policy with a different insurance provider within the same crop year is not allowed.
      • Clarify that an insured cannot have other livestock insurance on the same milk in the same quarterly insurance period.

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation’s Board of Directors (Board) approved revisions to the Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) plans of insurance, under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, on August 25, 2021, November 19, 2021, and February 17, 2022. The following revisions are applicable for the 2023 and succeeding crop years:

      • Increase head limits:
        • Fed Cattle: 12,000 head per endorsement and 25,000 head per crop year.
        • Feeder Cattle: 12,000 head per endorsement and 25,000 head per crop year.
        • Swine: 70,000 head per endorsement and 750,000 head per crop year.
      • Allow an insured to have both an LRP and Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) policy; however, an insured may not insure the same class of livestock with the same end month or have the same insured livestock insured under multiple policies. Modify the premium offset language to allow an insured the choice to receive indemnities without a reduction to offset premium on any endorsements that have not ended.
      • Clarify head limits are tracked by substantial beneficial interest (SBI).
      • Extend the termination date from June 30 to August 31.
      • Require proof of ownership before indemnity is issued.
      • Clarify that livestock must be marketable by the end of the Supplemental Coverage Endorsement (SCE).
      • Require insurance companies to pay indemnities within 30 days. Previously, insurance companies had 60 days to pay indemnities following the receipt of the claim form.
      • Allow unborn swine coverage for operations with multiple entity structures.
      • Modify the endorsement length for swine to a minimum of 30 weeks for unborn swine and a maximum of 30 weeks for all other swine.

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation’s Board of Directors (Board) approved revisions to the Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) plans of insurance, under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, on February 17, 2022. The following revisions are applicable for the 2023 and succeeding crop years:

      • Expand LGM Cattle, Dairy, and Swine coverage availability to all 50 states.
      • Allow an insured to have both an LRP and LGM policy; however, an insured may not insure the same class of livestock with the same end month or have the same insured livestock insured under multiple policies.
      • Modify the premium offset language to allow an insured the choice to receive indemnities without a reduction to offset premium on any endorsements that have not ended.

      April 28, 2022

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation's (FCIC) Board of Directors (Board) approved the revisions to the Hybrid Vegetable Seed plan of insurance, under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, on February 17, 2022. The policy was revised to determine the amount of insurance in terms of gross acres instead of female acres. 

      February 10, 2022

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) announced the Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP) for 2022. The program functions the same as PCCP for 2021 with the following changes:

      • Cover crops planted after June 15, 2021, and cultivated over the summer for fall-planted insureds crops now trigger the benefit.
      • Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) is now eligible for PCCP benefits in addition to any benefit applied to underlying policies.
      • State that maintain their own cover crop program now include a supplemental, dollar-for-dollar Federal match in addition to any base PCCP eligibility. Therefore, a producer in a participating state may receive up to $5/acre in base PCCP, an amount per acre established by the state, and an additional amount of PCCP equal to the amount established by the state. 

      A Final Rule with these changes will be published in the Federal Register on February 11, 2022.

      January 20, 2022

      The Risk Management Agency (RMA) issued Manager’s Bulletins to provide program flexibilities recognizing the potential impact and challenges due to COVID-19. Previously issued Manager’s Bulletins providing COVID-19 relief continue to apply through the effective dates as provided.  RMA remains committed to providing program flexibility that supports the health and safety of all parties while also ensuring the Federal crop insurance program continues to serve as a vital risk management tool. Therefore, additional relief is being authorized to provide program flexibilities for our insurance delivery partners and producers.

      Action: Relief is authorized for all policies, regardless of crop year, with program requirements due from January 16, 2022, through June 30, 2022, unless otherwise specified in the relief below.

      Electronic Notification and Signature Relief for Sales Closing (SCD), Production Reporting (PRD), and Acreage Reporting (ARD) Deadlines: 
      Notifications may be sent electronically between the policyholder and their Approved Insurance Provider (AIP)/agent. Policyholders may provide policy-related information over the phone or by electronic methods to select policy elections by SCD, PRD, and ARD. Policyholders and AIP/agents should retain appropriate documentation of the call or electronic communication. This authority also extends to options, endorsements, and other forms with SCD, PRD, or ARD deadlines.

      If the policyholder sends their reports in such a manner, they will be required to either sign digitally at the time of their report submission or follow up with a properly signed form(s) no later than 60 calendar days after the initial reporting deadline provided in the actuarial documents. The policyholder agrees to be bound by their initial certification and cannot make changes, other than those authorized by RMA procedure, after the applicable deadline.

      Producer Submission Deadlines for Written Agreement Requests:
      In accordance with Section 18(e)(1) of the Common Crop Insurance Policy, Basic Provisions, producers may be able to submit a request for a written agreement after the SCD (but on or before the ARD), if they are able to demonstrate the physical inability, including self-certification of COVID-19 related issues. Producers must submit the written agreement extension request (and any required additional documentation) on or before the SCD.

      Producer Signature Deadline for Written Agreement Offers:
      If a written agreement offer is provided to the producer, but the producer fails to sign the offer by the expiration date identified on the offer, the producer’s signature after the expiration date may still be accepted.

      If the signature and date are executed after the expiration date of the written agreement offer, the producer must provide a self-certification, or other documentation, showing that COVID-19 caused a physical inability to sign the offer by the expiration date. This self-certification, or other documentation, must include a brief explanation of the circumstances surrounding the situation (such as, producer was quarantined, etc.) and must be included with the signed and accepted written agreement offer when returned to RMA.

      Only written agreement offers issued by RMA for the 2022 crop year (2023 crop year for citrus) on or before June 30, 2022, with an expiration date on or before July 30, 2022, allow producer signatures to be accepted after the expiration date with proper self-certification or documentation. All documentation and signatures for these offers must be completed no later than August 1, 2022. In lieu of paragraphs 54 and 56 of the 2022 Written Agreement Handbook (WAH), written agreement offers signed after the expiration date due to COVID-19 must be electronically submitted to RMA through the Regional Office Exception system no later than 15 business days after the producer signed the written agreement offer.

      Any written agreement offers with an expiration date after July 30, 2022, must be signed by the expiration date identified in the written agreement offer and follow the procedures provided in the 2022 Written Agreement Handbook (WAH) for submission to RMA.

      If a written agreement offer is issued requiring a crop inspection per paragraph 42 of the 2022 WAH, the crop inspection is subject to the same submission dates required for the written agreement offer (that is, a crop inspection must be submitted no later than 15 business days after a written agreement offer is signed by the producer after the expiration date due to COVID-19), unless RMA specifies otherwise in the written agreement offer.

      AIP Submission Deadlines for Category B Determined Yield and Master Yield Requests:
      AIPs are allowed additional time to accept Regional Office (RO) Determined Yield, Master Yield, and Irrigated Determined Yield requests for Category B (annual) crops. The completed requests can be accepted by the AIP by the earlier of the ARD or applicable deadline plus 30 calendar days. Requests required to be submitted to RMA for review must be submitted to the RO no later than the earlier of the ARD or applicable deadline plus 30 calendar days. For example, a RO Determined Yield request must be completed and submitted to the RO no later than 20 calendar days after the PRD; however, with this relief, the request could be accepted by the AIP and submitted to the RO by the earlier of the ARD or 50 calendar days after the applicable PRD.

      AIP Submission Deadlines for Category C Determined Yield and Pre-Acceptance Inspection Reports (PAIRs):
      If, due to COVID-19 impacts, additional time is needed for submission of Category C (perennial) crop(s) RO Determined Yield requests, AIPs can request an additional 30-day extension from deadlines specified in the 2022 CIH paragraph 2212, and for PAIRs, CIH paragraph 1840.

      The request for extension must be submitted to the applicable RO and include documentation or self-certification of the physical inability to meet the established deadlines due to COVID-19. RO Underwriting Guidelines may be issued for subsequent COVID-19 relief, as warranted.

      Assignment of Indemnity (Assignments):
      AIPs are authorized to waive the witness signature requirement for approval of Assignments. The policyholder’s and creditor’s signatures continue to be required. Pen-and-ink signatures must be in the handwriting of the person whose signature is required. Electronic (digital) signatures must be in accordance with the AIPs established Electronic Business Implementation Plan and requirements in the Document and Supplemental Standards Handbook.

      Since the witness requirement is waived, AIPs must obtain and maintain documentation for proof of debt or other pecuniary obligation before an Assignment is accepted.

      January 5, 2022

      On August 25, 2021, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors approved the implementation of PACE, under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act. PACE will be available beginning with the 2022 crop year.

      • Available in select counties in the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
      • Applies to non-irrigated corn with a Sales Closing Date (SCD) of March 15, 2022, or later.
      • PACE provides coverage for producers who “split-apply” nitrogen. To “split-apply” nitrogen, the producer makes multiple fertilizer applications during the growing season rather than providing all of the crop’s nitrogen requirements with a single treatment before or during planting. This climate-smart practice allows for less total nitrogen to be applied, decreased nitrogen run-off and leaching, and can help reduce the producer’s overall nitrogen application costs. PACE will provide payments for the projected yield lost when producers are unable to apply the post-application of nitrogen during the V3-V10 corn growth stages due to field conditions created by weather.

      November 30, 2021

      The following changes are applicable for the 2022 and succeeding crop years:

      • Add flexibility to insurability requirements for hemp under contract;
      • Clarify how the amount of insurable acreage is determined if the processor contract specifies both an acreage and a production amount;
      • Update reference to the Agriculture Marketing Service final rule, which took effect March 22, 2021; and
      • Add insurability requirement for producers who grow direct-seeded hemp to have acreage inspected and have a minimum of 1,200 live plants per acre two inches or taller with the first true leaf pair after cotyledon emergence.

      November 29, 2021

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) amended the Machine Harvested Pickling Cucumber Crop Provisions for the 2022 and succeeding crop years. The crop provisions were revised to clarify the maximum contract price can be found in the actuarial documents and not in the Special Provisions.

      Micro Farm is available for the 2022 crop year. Sales closing dates are January 31, February 28, or March 15 depending on the producer’s county. The Micro Farm policy is offered through Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) and is enhanced to better meet the needs of small-scale farms.  This includes:

      • Eligibility: Micro Farm is available to producers who have a farm operation that earns an average allowable revenue of $100,000 or less, or for carryover insureds, an average allowable revenue of $125,000 or less.
      • Coverage Levels: All coverage levels will be available to producers using Micro Farm. This will enable producers to purchase the 80% and 85% coverage levels without providing additional paperwork.
      • Underwriting and Recordkeeping Requirements: Micro Farm minimizes underwriting and recordkeeping requirements, and producers will not have to report expenses and individual commodities.
      • Post-production Revenue: Producers can include post-production costs activities as revenue, such as washing and packaging commodities or value-added products like jam.

      November 24, 2021

      The Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) instructed the Risk Management Agency (RMA) to offer the Stacked Income Protection Plan of Insurance (STAX) to upland cotton producers, which became effective for the 2015 insurance year and was available in all counties where insurance for upland cotton was available. In order to provide clarity for determining insurable acres, RMA is making the following modification to the STAX program:

      • Providing a set date of March 15, for determining enrollment status in Agriculture Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage for STAX insurability purposes.

      The following changes are applicable for the 2022 and succeeding crop years:

      • Convert the policy from pilot to permanent status.
      • Apply the overplanting factor to production to count to ensure claims are calculated on the same basis as the guarantee.

      November 23, 2021

      The following changes are applicable for the 2022 and succeeding crop years:

      • Modify the weighted average contract price calculation to ensure the producer’s choice of coverage level does not impact their contract price;
      • Update the indemnity calculation and example to account for cases where a minimum stand payment is included in the contract; and,
      • Make small clarifications and correct references to other sections throughout the policy.

      November 22, 2021

      These revisions were prompted by feedback from producer groups and other industry stakeholders regarding the contracted tobacco features added for crop year 2021. Based on that feedback, RMA is improving the weighted average price calculations and incorporating clarifications regarding acreage reporting and spousal entities. Specific changes include:

      • Modify the weighted average contract price calculation to ensure the producer’s choice of coverage level does not impact their price for insurance purposes;
      • Clarify the deadline to submit contracts is the acreage reporting date;
      • Allow production agreements to be in the name of either spouse for spousal entities; and
      • Allow 10% tolerance for over-planting in excess of the contracted production amount and remain eligible for the weighted average price.

      The following changes are applicable for the 2022 and succeeding crop years:

      • Expanding the hybrid sweet corn policy to Umatilla County, Oregon and Yakima County, Washington.
      • Making minor clarifying and editorial changes in the policy, such as specifying amounts are “per acre.”

      September, 27, 2021

      September 17, 2021

      September 15, 2021

      August 31, 2021

      On August 25, 2021, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors approved the following changes to the Apiculture (API) and Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) crop insurance programs for the 2022 crop year.

      • Modify the sales closing date, API colony reporting date, PRF acreage reporting date, termination date, and cancellation date from November 15 to December 1;
      • Allow the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) form FSA-578 to be used in conjunction with other documentation in determining shares;
      • Revise the definition of “veteran farmer or rancher” to allow a legal entity, comprised only of the veteran and their spouse, to qualify as a veteran farmer or rancher when a qualifying veteran has a non-veteran spouse;
      • Allow a producer to report acreage as certified organic, or as acreage in transition to certified organic, when the producer has requested an organic certification by the acreage reporting date; and
      • Clarify the responsibility is on the producer to start dispute resolution through arbitration when the producer disagrees with an approved insurance provider determination.

      On August 25, 2021, the FCIC Board approved the following changes to the WFRP plan of insurance, applicable for the 2022 and succeeding policy years:

      • Increase the expansion limits for organic producers to the higher of $500,000 or 35 percent from the current limit of 35 percent for all operations;
      • Increase the limit of insurance for aquaculture producers to $8.5 million, allowing more aquaculture producers to participate in the program;
      • Allow producers to report acreage as certified organic when the producers have requested an organic certification by the date the Revised Farm Operation Report is due; and
      • Provide flexibility to report a partial yield history for producers lacking records by inserting a zero yield for missing years.

      August 30, 2021

      The following changes are applicable for the 2023 and succeeding crop years:

      • Expand coverage for lemons to Highlands and Charlotte counties in Florida;
      • Move the deadline for a revised acreage report and the date insurance attaches following a revised acreage report from March 1 to May 15 in order to allow additional time for ownership and lease changes;
      • Remove the acreage limitation for contract pricing (producers with both contracted and non-contracted production will have the ability to use a weighted average price for their production);
      • Allow state required detailed trip tickets to be considered as acceptable production records; and
      • Provide quality adjustment for low juice content due to an insurable cause of loss to fruit production insured as fresh but sold as juice. This will make the policy more consistent with the Florida Citrus Fruit Dollar Plan, providing for an easier transition from the Dollar Plan to the APH plan.

      Actual policy changes impact the following states for 2022: ID, MI, NY, OR, WA, and WI. New crop provisions will apply to those states, as wells as the states of CA, MT, and UT, but none of the policy changes noted in the bulletin will directly impact policyholders in CA, MT, or UT.

      The Risk Management Agency (RMA) is implementing changes to the Pistachio Crop Provisions variability adjustment factor (VAF). The following changes are applicable for the 2022 and succeeding crop years:

      • Revise the calculation for VAF to utilize the policyholder’s actual yields; and
      • Establish VAF minimums and maximums to be used when the calculated VAF is outside an established range.

      August 27, 2021

      The Risk Management Agency (RMA) revised the Grape crop insurance program in California, Idaho, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. The following changes are applicable for the 2022 and succeeding crop years:

      • Allow producers with both contracted and non-contracted production the ability to use a weighted average price for their production;
      • Extend the acreage reporting date from January 15 to May 15 to allow producers additional time to finalize their contracts (Idaho, Oregon, and Washington); and
      • Clarify how to convert a contract price expressed in dollars per acre to dollars per ton.

      August 2, 2021

      July 27, 2021

      THE FCIC has expanded the number of counties where certain crops are insurable for the 2022 crop year having a June 30 contract change date. The 2022 Expansion of Existing Fall Crop Programs include:

      • Barley | Indiana | Ripley County
      • Barley | Ohio | Medina County

      July 13, 2021

      July 6, 2021

      June 30, 2021

      The following changes are applicable for the 2022 and succeeding crop years: 

      • Revision of the definitions of "Adjacent County " and "County Loss Trigger ";
      • Added the definition of "County ";
      • Clarification of the impact of changing your coverage in subsequent crop years, and limitations imposed on coverage resulting from said changes;
      • Revision to determine eligible areas where a loss is not triggered for your county before you report your acreage for the underlying policy;
      • Clarification that only one administrative fee per crop, per county, is owed for the HIP-WI, and;
      • Revisions to the methodology for establishing triggered counties in the Hurricane Data Provisions.

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) amended the ARPI and CCIP Basic Provisions for the 2022 and succeeding crop years for crops with a contract date on or after June 30, 2021, and for all other crops the changes are applicable for the 2023 and succeeding crop years with the following changes: 

      • CCIP and ARPI Basic Provisions
        • Revise the definition of "veteran farmer or rancher " to allow legal entity, comprised only of the veteran and their spouse, to qualify as a veteran farmer or rancher when a qualifying veteran has a non-veteran spouse.
      • CCIP Basic Provisions
        • Clarify that the notice of loss provisions apply for Quality Loss Option eligibility. 
        • Allow Crop Provisions to have enterprise units (EU) if allowed by the Crop Provisions. This change will allow separate EUs by type for wheat, dry beans, and dry peas through the Crop Provisions.
        • Allow a producer to report acreage as certified organic or as acreage in transition to organic, when the producer certifies that they have requested, in writing, a written certification or other written documentation from a certifying agent on or before the acreage reporting date.

      June 25, 2021

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors amended the Small Grains Crop Provisions for the 2022 and succeeding crop years. These provisions were revised to allow for additional unit divisions for wheat and to make discretionary changes to clarify provisions for counties with spring-planted acreage, fall-planted acreage, or both.

      June 24, 2021

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors approved changes to the Malting Barley Endorsement, under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, on May 21, 2021. 

      The following changes are applicable for the 2022 and succeeding crop years: 

      • Expand to Decatur and Ripley counties in Indiana and Medina county in Ohio.  
      • Clarify and align claim-related date specifications with other procedure and policy.

      The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) amended the Dry Bean and Dry Pean Crop Provisions for the 2022 and succeeding crop years, with the following changes: 

      • Allowed enterprise unit division by type for producers to be indemnified separately by type. 
      • Allowed Dry Bean "Types " to include crops that are insured by written agreement.
      • Clarified which Dry Pea sales closing date applies in dual counties when (insurable) fall planted acreage exists.

      June 16, 2021

      The following changes are applicable for the 2022 and succeeding crop years: 

      • Expand the program to an additional 128 counties in 21 states, and,
      • Revise the maximum contract price factor from 1.4 to 2.27 times the established price for the crop year.

      June 1, 2021

      • MGR-21-003 and information on COVID-19 Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP)

        The Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced the availability of funding under the Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP) to assist agricultural producers impacted by the effects of COVID-19. Cover crop maintenance was challenging due to the economic impacts of the pandemic. For the 2021 crop year, PCCP premium support is available to eligible producers for eligible insured acres on a spring crop insurance policy.

      Press Release - Published June 1, 2021 - Producers with Crop Insurance to receive premium benefit for cover crops

      Read more in the Pandemic Cover Crop Program National Fact Sheet at https://www.rma.usda.gov/en/Fact-Sheets/National-Fact-Sheets/Pandemic-Cover-Crop-Program 

      Please see the bulletin released by the RMA: MGR-21-003: COVID-19 Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP) 

      Additional resources attached regarding PCCP: 

      May 13, 2021

      April 30, 2021

      April 29, 2021

      April 28, 2021

      April 22, 2021

      July 31, 2020

      • Informational Memorandum: COM-20-003: 1st crop CCIP / 2nd crop RIVI - Annual Forage Double Cropping 
      • Read the full RMA Bulletin HERE.

      July 27, 2020

      • Informational Memorandum OA-20-002: Customer Survey
      • Read the full RMA bulletin HERE. 

       

      2020 Provision Updates

       

      2019 Provision Updates

      • PM-19-071 - Sugar Beets
        • The FCIC amended the Sugar Beet Crop Provisions for the 2020 and succeeding crop years in all counties with a November 30 contract change date and 2021 and succeeding crop years for all other counties, with the following changes:
          • Revised the maximum early harvest adjustment to the higher of the producer’s approved actual production history yield or the actual yield of the sugar beets harvested after full maturity from the unit;
          • Replaced the definition of “processor contract” with “production agreement,” which does not require a price or formula based on third party data;
          • Revised the production agreement deadline from the time of loss to the acreage reporting date;
          • Clarified when to apply the early harvest adjustment;
          • Added procedures allowing third parties to test raw sugar content in addition to the processor; and
          • Added salvage value procedures for damaged production.
      • PM-19-070 - Coarse Grains
        • The FCIC revised the Coarse Grains Crop Provisions to allow separate enterprise or optional units by following another crop (FAC) and not following another crop (NFAC) cropping practices for grain sorghum and soybeans when allowed by the actuarial documents, and to make other technical edits. The changes will be effective for the 2020 and succeeding crop years.
      • PM-19-068 - Hybrid Seed Rice
        • The FCIC revised the Hybrid Seed Rice Crop Provisions to remove the definition of “adjusted yield” and clarify definitions for “amount of insurance per acre” and “county yield”. The changes are applicable for the 2020 and succeeding crop years..
      • PM-19-067 - Sweet Potatoes
        • The FCIC Board of Directors approved changes to the Sweet Potato crop insurance program, under section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, on September 20, 2019. The following changes are applicable for the 2020 and succeeding crop years:
          • Allowance of optional units;
          • Removal of the 4-year production requirement for insurance;
          • Increase in the allowable acreage expansion from 110 to 115 percent of historical acreage;
          • Revision to loss adjustment procedures for irregularly-shaped fields.
      • PM-19-066 - Hybrid Sweet Corn
        • The FCIC revised the Hybrid Sweet Corn Seed Crop Provisions to clarify the definitions of hybrid sweet corn seed processor contract and amount of insurance per acre. The changes are applicable for the 2020 and succeeding crop years.
      • PM-19-061 - Fresh Market Beans
        • FCIC revised the Fresh Market Bean Crop Provisions to allow separate coverage levels by type (planting period) and to make other policy clarifications. The changes are applicable for the 2020 crop year.

      You can access your policy provisions at any time by going to https://www.naucountry.com/myprovisions.

      Please contact your NAU Country Agent with any questions.