The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) continues making improvements for specialty crops. RMA Administrator Marcia Bunger says recent crop insurance changes give specialty crops some of the benefits that other crops have enjoyed for years.
“There’s a number of crops that we have existing policies on, but never before have they been allowed to utilize Enterprise Units, which is something that’s very familiar to traditional row crop growers in the upper Midwest. We are also allowing noncontiguous parcels of land that qualify for optional units to also qualify for enterprise units,” Bunger said.
An Enterprise Unit consists of all insurable acreage of the same insured crop within one county. This structure allows a producer to insure all acres of the insured crop in the county together, as opposed to other structures that separate the acreage for insurance. Often, the use of Enterprise leads to lower premium rates because of the lower risk associated with geographic diversification.
The following changes will be made beginning with the 2025 crop year:
- Enterprise and Optional Units:
- Expand Enterprise Units (EU) to almonds, apples, avocado (California), citrus (Arizona, California, and Texas), figs, macadamia nuts, pears, prunes, and walnuts.
- Allow non-contiguous parcels of land that qualify for Optional Units (OU) to also qualify for EU.
- Allow EUs by organic farming practice for alfalfa seed, almonds, apples, avocado (California), cabbage, canola, citrus (Arizona, California and Texas), coarse grains, cotton, ELS cotton, dry beans, dry peas, figs, fresh market tomatoes, forage production, grass seed, macadamia nuts, millet, mint, mustard, pears, potatoes (northern, central, and southern), processing tomatoes, prunes, safflower, small grains, sunflower seed, and walnuts.
- Expand OUs by organic practice to all remaining crops where OUs are available, and the organic practice is insurable.
- Walnut Quality Adjustment: Allow sunburned damaged walnuts to be eligible for indemnity payments through quality adjustment.
- Almond Leaf Year: Expand insurance coverage to younger trees by including trees in their fifth leaf year after being set out.
- Processing Bean End of Insurance Period: Extend insurance coverage in Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey by an additional 16 days.
- Canola: Expand insurance for canola into South Dakota and Michigan.
Bunger encourages growers to talk to a crop insurance professional or the local RMA office to see how new options may work for their farm.
“Contact your insurance agent and start visiting on the additional options that are available. In some instances, it may not work for an individual’s operation, but yet at the same time it may be something that is very welcomed. You know, my experience with enterprise units has been that it does provide a cheaper level of insurance,” she said. “And why it’s cheaper is that as the producer, I’m willing to take more risk. But again, it’s just another tool in the toolbox and I’m just really proud of the work that RMA has done with expanding so many options to growers that previously, never had the kinds of opportunities options that I had as a corn and bean insurance holder.
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.