The U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency has announced updates to improve insurance coverage through livestock programs beginning in 2027.
“These updates expand coverage options, update eligibility definitions and strengthen program consistency across RMA’s livestock portfolio. These enhancements are another way we are putting Farmers First. We want to ensure that livestock and dairy operations across the country have the best tools available to manage risk,” said RMA Administrator Pat Swanson.
These updates include changes to Livestock Risk Protection, Livestock Gross Margin and Dairy Revenue Protection Insurance programs, including: “Adding subsidy capture language to address off-exchange contracts; Updating the definition of beginning farmer or rancher and subsidy percentages to align with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act; Permitting concurrent coverage between similar livestock programs; Enabling policies that have not earned premium for three consecutive years to be subject to cancellation; Revising transfer of coverage language to clarify when coverage can be transferred; and Updating general policy language for consistency with other RMA insurance policies.”
Specific changes to Livestock Risk Protection include expanding guidelines for the forage disaster exemption addressing extended drought, increasing maximum weight threshold for fed cattle types, extending cull cow coverage, and adding three new feeder cattle types. Specific changes to Livestock Gross Margin include increasing the maximum insurable weight for cattle, revising the definition of “target feeder cattle weight,” modifying the definition of “share” for LGM Cattle, and revising the definition of “target live cattle weight.” Dairy Revenue Protection will also be adjusted by moving the sales period end date to the following calendar day.
Contact a crop insurance agent to see how Federal crop insurance can meet the specific needs of your operation. Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available online at the RMA Agent Locator. Producers can learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov or by contacting their RMA Regional Office. RMA’s Basics for Beginners provides information for those new to crop insurance.
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.