Crop Insurance Education Program

Farming is a high-risk business. Even the best farming practices cannot ensure against weather-related crop destruction. Crop insurance is a risk management strategy that can contribute to your farm’s financial stability and can be affordable. Crop insurance products are changing and an effort that began in 2002 to create crop insurance products more suited to farms in the Northeast has resulted in several new products worth your consideration. In addition, the new Farm Bill has changed the way disaster programs will be administered and now requires farmers to insure all crops on the farm in order to be eligible for disaster payments, should a disaster event and designation occur.

Sales Closing Dates for Crop Insurance Products for 2009 – 2010

January 12-15 Managing the Margin Dairy Farm Workshops 
Managing the Margin workshops will teach dairy producers effective risk management strategies they can use to control price risks and improve their bottom line. NYSDAM is sponsoring 4 workshops in different locations across the state. For more details and sign-up information for these four-hour information sessions, click on the link above.

Fruit Crop Insurance
The Perennial Fruit Crop Insurance sign-up deadline for Apples, Berries, Grapes and Peaches is
November 20, 2009.  To attend a crop insurance education meeting close to you, please see the list of scheduled meetings.

Meeting Schedule for Fruit Crop Insurance Education

2010 NY Apples Crop Insurance Presentation PDF | PPT
2010 NY Grapes Crop Insurance Presentation PDF | PPT
Changes in the Crop Insurance Grape Policy 2010 PDF

NEW Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Crop Insurance
Producers in 15 counties can insure hay, forage and pasture in an innovative pilot program where the premiums are heavily subsidized by the federal government and pay-offs are related to a rainfall index. The Pasture, Rangeland, Forage sign-up deadline is November 30, 2009. The 15 eligible pilot counties are: Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Greene, Schoharie, Steuben, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster. Plan to attend an education session in your county on the new product.  Your county FSA agent and crop insurance agents have also been invited to attend. Please visit the RMA website for more information at http://www.rma.usda.gov/policies/pasturerangeforage/.  

Meeting Schedule for Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Pilot Crop Insurance Product Sessions
NY Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Fact Sheet for 2010 Coverage , Or view our presentation on this crop insurance product PDF | PPT

What types of crop insurance are available in your county? PDF

Crop Insurance & Disaster Payments Now Linked
The new Farm Bill now requires that in order to be eligible for disaster payments, all the crops grown on a farm must be covered by insurance in order for the farm to receive disaster payments, in the event of a disaster. For crops without a specific insurance program, a non-insured crop policy must be obtained. This is a big change in disaster coverage. Please talk to your FSA agent for details to make sure you are eligible for disaster coverage. Call your FSA agent today.  The federal Risk Management Agency maintains fact sheets and other information on all types of crop insurance products. Farm Service Agency agents can explain the new requirements that link any and all crop disaster payment eligibility to insurance coverage for all crops on the farm.

New Features of LGM-Dairy Beginning Summer 2009
The LGM-Dairy (Livestock Gross Margin) insurance program covers the difference between the projected gross margin (or insurance guarantee) and the actual gross margin.  A loss payment (indemnity) results when the projected gross margin exceeds the actual gross margin.  Futures prices from the Board of Trade (BOT) are used to determine the value of milk and feed. Beginning with the July 31, 2009 enrollment period, the policy allows a longer time to sign up and authorizes default (or producer’s actual) feed to milk ratio.

Summary of Field Crop Insurance in NYS
Choosing the right crop insurance for your corn or soybean crop can be complicated. This document assists producers with understanding the concepts behind different kinds of crop insurance that you could buy for your crops to allow you to make informed comparisons.  PDF

Dairy LGM Now Available in 36 states

For questions, contact your crop insurance agent, your FSA agent or
Sarah Johnston
NYS Dept of Agriculture and Markets
518-457-4531