Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Insures All Farm Revenue Under Single Policy
Farmers with highly diverse farms, who grow specialty commodities and sell to direct or specialty markets now have access to a crop insurance policy to meet their needs.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) offers the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) policy, which is a revenue-based policy that provides coverage for all commodities on the farm grouped together.
“The Whole-Farm Revenue Protection policy is unique in that it encourages and supports farm diversification,” said RMA acting administrator Heather Manzano. “As part of this policy, individual commodity losses are not considered; it is the overall farm revenue that determines losses.”
WFRP is available for farms with specialty or organic commodities (crops and livestock), or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identify preserved, specialty or direct markets. The policy requires two or more commodities to meet the diversification requirements.
RMA has an estimated liability of more than $78 million for onions covered under the WFRP policy in 2017.
“In 2017, there were nearly $2.6 billion in Whole-Farm Revenue Protection liabilities nationwide. That means producers are becoming more familiar with the policy and are using it,” Manzano said.
The WFRP policy, available in all 50 states, covers organically-grown insurable crops, as well as revenue from all commodities produced on the farm, including animals, animal products and commodities purchased for resale. Producers can purchase coverage from 50 to 85 percent, and the policy can be tailored to fit different operations up to $8.5 million in liability.
Federal crop insurance is critical to the farm safety net. It helps producers and owners manage revenue risks and strengthens the rural economy. The Risk Management Agency consistently looks for ways to make crop insurance more effective and accessible for producers. The availability of WFRP is a reflection of this effort.
“Here at the Risk Management Agency, everything we do is for producers and to ensure the sustainment and growth of the agriculture industry,” Manzano said. “As the industry expands and diversifies, we need to be creating crop insurance products alongside them.”
For more information about Whole-Farm Revenue Protection, visit www.rma.usda.gov/policies/wfrp.html. For more information about the Risk Management Agency, visit www.rma.usda.gov. Producers interested in learning more about Whole-Farm Revenue Protection should visit their crop insurance agent. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers and online at the RMA Agent Locator. Growers can use the RMA Cost Estimator to get a premium amount estimate of their insurance needs online.
