risk management agency federal crop insurance 11 specialty crops.pdf · • since 2015, wfrp has...
TRANSCRIPT
Risk Management Agency
Federal Crop Insurance
MATTHEW WILKIN
DEPUTY DIRECTOR, VALDOSTA REGIONAL OFFICE
RISK MANAGEMENT AGENCY (RMA) / USDA
This presentation highlights features of the Risk Management Agency
programs and is not intended to be comprehensive. The information
presented neither modifies or replaces terms and conditions of any crop
insurance policy or the county actuarial documents. Consult a crop
insurance agent for further details.
• Provides farm producers and owners various methods to mitigate production and revenue risks
• Strengthens the safety net for Ag producers
• Helps to maintain a durable rural economy
Purpose of Crop Insurance
History of Federal Crop Insurance
• Severe dust storms causing catastrophic drought, known as the Dust Bowl, devastated American agriculture during the 1930s.
• Congress created the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) in 1938 to address the needs of farmers impacted by the Dust Bowl.
The Dust Bowl in Oklahoma, 1936
History of Federal Crop Insurance
• In the 1980s, FCIC began working with private insurance companies to deliver and service crop insurance. Today insurance is offered by 15 Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs).
• The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) was created in 1996 to administer FCIC programs and risk management and education programs.
RMA and AIP Leaders at USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum, 2017
• The Risk Management Agency develops and approves policies, and provides program oversight (to prevent fraud).
• The Approved Insurance Providers have a contract with RMA and sell and service the Federal crop insurance policies
A public-private partnership
Roles & Responsibilities
• Develops and approves policy terms, rates, and prices
• Validates premium and loss information; determines underwriting gain or loss; settles with insurance companies
• Reviews new products and program expansionand helps producers manage their business risks by using effective, market-based risk management solutions
Role of RMA in More Detail
89% of U.S. Croplands are Federally Insured
Source: Analysis of Federal Crop Insurance Portfolio, September 2017
Increasing Liability
1999: $30.9 B
2016: $100.5 B
Federal Crop Insurance Program Growth
Source: Analysis of Federal Crop Insurance Portfolio, September 2017
• Adverse Weather (frost, heat, drought, hail)
• Catastrophic Weather Events – hurricanes, etc.
• Failure of Irrigation Water Supply
• Fire
• Insects and Disease• If proper control measures are used, and
• Accepted good farming practices
• Wildlife
• Price Fluctuation
Losses Covered
Producers must:
• Report acreage, and any required protection, accurately
• Meet policy deadlines
• Pay premiums when due
• Report losses immediately
Producer obligations
Producers will receive:
• Accurate answers to questions on types of coverage
• Prompt processing of their policy
• Timely payments for covered losses
Producer expectations
• If applied for, and granted, BFR status lasts 5 years
• Exempt from admin fee for catastrophic, additional coverage policies
• Additional 10 percentage points of premium subsidy for additional coverage policies that have premium subsidy
• Use of the production history of farming operations that you were previously involved in the decision making or physical activities
• An increase in the substitute Yield Adjustment, which allows you to replace a low yield due to an insured cause of loss, from 60 to 80 percent of the applicable transitional yield (T-Yield)
• Read more: www.rma.usda.gov
Beginning Farmer & Rancher Benefits
What if I want to insure a commodity that
RMA doesn’t cover in my county?
There are three basic options:
• Submit a Request for Actuarial Change to RMA through a Crop Insurance Agent
• Whole Farm Revenue Protection
• Apply for the FSA Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP)
Requesting Insurance Not Available in Your
County
• By submitting a Request for Actuarial Change through a Crop Insurance
Agent, RMA can individually insure you for any crop that has an existing
insurance program in another county.
• You must have produced this crop (or a similar crop) in the county or area for
at least 3 years.
• Your request must be submitted on or before the sales closing and/or
cancellation date for your crop.
Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP)
Whole Farm
Revenue Protection
Offered as a pilot program for 2015 insurance year and beyond
To be eligible, you must have 5 years of filed IRS Schedule F tax forms for your farm operation
Allows farmers to insure all of the crops and livestock on their farm under one insurance policy
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• The Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) instructed RMA to develop a whole-farm diversified risk management plan of insurance
• Since 2015, WFRP has provided coverage for all revenue produced on a farm
• Recognizes diversity with higher subsidy levels
• Whole-farm subsidy for farms with two or more commodities meeting the diversification requirements
• Includes farms with specialty or organic commodities (crops and livestock), or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identity preserved, specialty, or direct markets.
Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP)
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Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP)
If a commodity is “missing”, notify RMA at [email protected]
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Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP)
Apply by Sales Closing Date –
February 28, 2020
Five years (3 for BFR) of Tax
Records from your farming entity
5 most recent Schedule F’s or a
substitute Schedule F
List of commodities you plan to
produce
Expected yield and revenue for each
Your Agent will be able to help you
through this process
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Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP)
When revenue from your crops is less than your insured
revenue
Natural causes of loss
Decline in market price during the insurance period
Taxes must be filed for the insurance year before any
claim can be made (2018 year farm taxes must be filed
for 2018 Indemnity payment)
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Policies
Earning Prem
Liabilities
(millions $)
Total Prem
(millions $)
Indemnity
(millions $)
Loss
Ratio
2015 1122 $1,146.0 $53.0 $70.0 1.32
2016 2198 $2,327.3 $118.3 $172.7 1.46
2017 2740 $2,842.5 $143.0 $153.5 1.07
2018 2496 $2,686.2 $139.3 $25.9 0.19
2019 1799* $2,054.6 $145.2 $0* N/A
Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP)
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Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP)
2020 WFRP Updates Change to revenue-to-count for NAP and disaster payments
Adjustment of Livestock and Nursery limits
Addition of provisions specific to hemp
Implementation of history smoothing provisions
Adjustment to indexing calculations
Specialty Crops
2018 Farm Bill Requirements for Specialty Crops
Specialty Crop Liaisons
Website
Research and Development Requirements
Whole Farm Revenue Protection
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Specialty Crops Farm Bill: ‘‘The Specialty Crops Coordinator shall designate a Specialty
Crops Liaison in each regional field office.”
Specialty Crops Liaisons have been established in each RMA regional office
• Liaisons serve as main point of contact for local specialty crop producers
• Keep abreast of any risk management needs for local specialty crop producers
• Provide recommended program changes to Specialty Crop Coordinator
• New specialty crop programs
• Expansions to existing specialty crop programs
• Works with Specialty Crops Coordinator in exploring adoption of recommendations
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Specialty Crops - Liaisons
Regional Office - Liaison
Billings, MT – Steve Junghans Spokane, WA – Nick Gans
Davis, CA –Thalia Barajas Springfield, IL –Adrienne McTaggart
Jackson, MS – Kanika Davis St. Paul, MN –Craig Christianson
Oklahoma City, OK – Devin Lolles Topeka, KS –Amanda Whitehurst
Raleigh, NC –William Barnes Valdosta, GA – Matthew Wilkin
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Specialty Crops - Website
Farm Bill: The Specialty Crops Coordinator shall establish a website focused on the efforts of the Corporation to provide and expand crop insurance for specialty crop producers.’’
Specialty Crops Landing Page created
Lists Specialty Crops Liaisons and provides their e-mail link
Specialty Crops Reports
Provides annual updates on program expansions for specialty crops
Outreach efforts with specialty crop producers and other stakeholders
Statistics on program growth for specialty crops
• Online mechanism for public to provide feedback on specialty crop program improvements
• Upcoming: Calendar of upcoming events—producer outreach meetings, etc. 28
Specialty Crops – Research &
Development
Farm Bill: “The Corporation shall prepare and present…each of the following:
(i) …a policy or plan of insurance for a commodity for which there is no existing policy or plan of insurance.
(ii) Expansion of an existing policy or plan of insurance…
(iii) A new policy, plan of insurance, or endorsement, for commodities
with existing policies or plans of insurance…’’
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Specialty Crops - Research and Development
New Asparagus Program
Caneberry Expansion to Blackberries
New Horseradish
Program
New Hazelnut Program
New Winter Squash/
Pumpkin Program
New Carrot Program
Dry Pea Expansion
to Fava Beans
Sweet Potato
Expansion
Grape Expansion
to new Counties
Cabbage ExpansionApiculture
Expansion
Quarantine Endorsement
Expansion
Cucumber Expansion
Creamer Potato
Endorsement
Specialty Crops - Research and
Development
Specialty Crop Coordinator and Liaisons conduct outreach with growers and
other stakeholders based on recommendations
• Further gauge interest in risk management protection
• Determine risk management needs—yield, revenue protection?
• Discuss potential program viability
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Specialty Crops – Research and
Development
Outreach Conducted:
• Guar producers in Brownfield, Texas – November 2018
• Winter squash/pumpkin producers in Hadley, Massachusetts – March 2019
• Asparagus, carrots, squash producers in Grands Rapids, Michigan – December 2018
• Horseradish producers in Collinsville, Illinois – June 2019
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Specialty Crops - Research and
Development
Valdosta, GA recommendations
• New Creamer Potato Endorsement
• Provide coverage for potatoes grown under the ‘creamer’ practice
• Current policy not adequate protection
• Looking at implementing recommendation as well as overall evaluation of entire potato program
• Expand Quarantine Endorsement to Florida counties
• Proposed to cover losses due to a quarantine
• Intended for fruits and vegetables in south Florida that can be experience outbreaks of Oriental fruit fly
• Avocados, tomatoes, various citrus, mangos, carambola
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Specialty Crops – Research and
Development
Challenges in developing new risk management protection for specialty crops
• Limited available data
• Yield data are necessary to develop crop insurance premium rates that are actuarially sound
• Price data are needed to establish a price election or to develop revenue programs
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Specialty Crops - Research and
Development
Factors considered in exploring program development efforts
Documented producer and industry interest (letters of support)
Evidence of yield, pricing data, and commitment to provide data
Number of production acres
Number of producers
Crop value
Whether crop is located in underserved area
Estimated cost for development to FCIC
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Specialty Crops - Research and
Development
Future vision for new sectors of agriculture and potential markets
Urban
Suburban
Local direct to consumer
Hydroponic
Aeroponic
High tech vertical technology farms
Indoor farming
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Matthew Wilkin
Deputy Director, Specialty Crop Liaison
RMA Valdosta, GA Regional Office
Thank you!