Crop Insurance Options At A Glance
3/9/2010
There are no major changes in crop insurance for 2010, says Gary Schnitkey, professor for agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois. But, you need to be aware of a few updates.
Base prices are changed for Crop Revenue Coverage/Revenue Assurance (CRC – RA) and Group Risk Income Protection (GRIP):
· $3.99 for corn, from $4.03 in 2009
· $9.23 for beans, from $8.80 in 2009
The volatilities are lower in 2010, which leads to lower premiums, he says.
The corn biotech endorsements also include more hybrids from more companies.
Group Risk Plan (GRP) and GRIP eliminated some counties, but premiums are generally lower, GRIP programs are lower by 30% in some counties with an increase in others. There’s no way of knowing which counties will see a decrease or increase, Schnitkey says.
CRC:
- Percent of acres insured in Illinois increased in 2010 with 68% for corn and 57% for beans
- This is farm-level coverage
- Enterprise units and biotech endorsements are suggested with this coverage
- Provides better yield protection
- Has replant and prevented planting provisions
- Almost always has the lowest premium for corn
- Better at farm level, especially for farms that don’t follow county yield
RA:
- 7% of corn acres are insured and 15% of beans in Illinois
- Virtually the same as CRC
- RA-Base Price has higher premiums at 80-85% for corn, not necessarily for beans
GRIP:
- 13% of corn acres are insured and 10% of bean acres in Illinois
- This is county-level coverage
- 90% coverage level is suggested by Schnitkey
- Provides better price protection
- Premiums vary for each county
- No replant or prevented planting provisions
- Two choices for coverage
- Coverage level, Schnitkey suggests at 90%
- Protection level, 60-100%, vary to get desired premium
- Higher coverage level
Other suggestions by Schnitkey:
- Filing for claims is going on for the 2008 SURE payment at local FSA offices
- The farmer must have had crop insurance on all acres in 2008
- Farms in Illinois could receive sizeable payments
- In some farms in Illinois, the payment could be $50 per acre
You can e-mail Rachel Duff at rduff@farmjournal.com.
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