WHOLE FARM, LIVESTOCK RISK PROTECTION AVAILABLE TO MORE PRODUCERS IN UNDERSERVED STATES
James Callan (202) 720-8812
Shirley Pugh (202) 690-0437
WASHINGTON, Aug 18, 2003 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Federal Crop Insurance
Corporation Board of Directors (FCIC Board) has voted to expand the Adjusted Gross Revenue-Lite
(AGR-Lite) pilot program and the Livestock Risk Protection Pilot Plan of Insurance for Swine
(LRP-Swine). The Board also approved modifications to the Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) pilot
plan of insurance, and expansion of the pecan and blueberry pilot programs to additional
counties.
These program expansions will increase the availability of risk management tools for livestock
and specialty crop producers, small, diversified farms and historically underserved states.
"This action supports the administration's commitment to providing more risk management tools to assist farmers and ranchers," said Risk Management Agency (RMA) Administrator Ross J. Davidson, Jr. "We commend the Board for their decision to expand these programs."
In addition, the Board submitted five new products for expert review. Below is brief
information about expansions and modifications to these programs.
AGR-Lite: This program is a whole-farm risk management product owned by the Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture. In addition to Pennsylvania, the expanded program will reach a number
of counties in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey and
Rhode Island, and selected counties in West Virginia, New York, and Maryland, as approved by
RMA. Additional modifications were also approved for the program in all states including
Pennsylvania. These modifications will qualify more livestock, organic and small to medium size
producers in these states for a whole-farm risk management approach compared with currently
available policies. Sales are expected to begin in early December.
LRP-Swine: The LRP-Swine pilot program, originally offered only in Iowa, protects producers
from declining hog prices if actual ending value drops below the producer's selected coverage
price. The expanded pilot program will reach hog producers in 10 additional states: Illinois,
Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. The expanded
LRP-Swine pilot program is expected to be released mid-September with sales beginning
mid-November.
LGM: Swine producers in Iowa will also benefit from the Board's approval of modifications to
the Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) pilot plan of insurance. LGM pays an insured if the actual
gross margin (hog price minus feed costs) for market hogs sold during the coverage period is less
than the gross margin guarantee for the coverage period. The Board approved several program
modifications: LGM sales will be offered on a monthly basis rather than bi-annually. Insurance
periods will change to a five-month period beginning one calendar month and one day after the
sales closing date (rather than six months after sales closing date). The price discovery period
will end three business days before the sales closing date, and the sales period is reduced to
the two business days after the price discovery period. Modifications to this program are
expected to be available around February 2004.
Specialty Crops: The Board also approved the expansion of two specialty crop programs for the
2004 crop year. The Blueberry Pilot Program will be offered to producers in select counties of
Washington, Oregon and Michigan. The Pecan Pilot Program will be expanded to Baldwin and Mobile
counties of Alabama.
Interested producers should contact their crop insurance agent regarding specific changes to
these policies and eligibility requirements. Additional information is also available at
http://www.rma.usda.gov/. A list of crop insurance agents is available at local Farm Service
Agency offices or by using RMA's Agent Locator at:
http://www3.rma.usda.gov/tools/agents/.
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