A new crop insurance policy, whole-farm revenue protection, is available for 2015 crops, said USDA’s Risk Management Agency. It says the new policy “makes crop insurance more affordable for producers, including fruit and vegetable growers and organic farmers and ranchers.” Coverage levels range from 50 percent to 80 percent of revenue. The new policy will be offered in most states. Producers can insure a variety of crops under one policy, instead of having to buy a different policy for each crop.”This gives them the option of embracing more crop diversity and helps support the production of a wider variety of foods,” said RMA.
“This will be the first time that many farmers will have access to affordable crop insurance that provides flexible and comprehensive revenue coverage for their whole farm,” said the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, a small-farm advocate. NSAC said the new policy is an improvement over two previous whole-farm policies. It has higher coverage levels, a higher liability limit and a subsidized premium. The new policy was mandated by the 2014 farm law.