USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced the expansion of Margin Protection (MP) under the crop insurance program to make the coverage available in more counties in the U.S. starting with 2024 crops.
The expansion would add 1,255 counties for soybeans and 1,729 counties for corn, making the coverage available in 22 states for soybeans with 34 states being covered in total and it would make it available for select counties for rice (Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas), and wheat (Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota).
Margin Protection Background
MP is an area-based (average for a county) insurance plan providing coverage against an unexpected decrease in operating margin (revenue less input costs), caused by reduced county yields, reduced commodity prices, increased prices of certain inputs (diesel, interest, and fertilizers like diammonium phosphate, urea, potash, or monoammonium phosphate in the case of wheat) or any combination of these perils.
However, since MP is area-based coverage, an individual farm may have a decrease in its margin but not receive an indemnity or vice-versa.
Sales closing dates for corn, soybeans and spring wheat is Sept. 30 of the calendar prior to the insured crop year with the dates for rice the same as with other rice policies.
There would also be a separate administrative fee for MP. There were 1.7 million acres of corn and 1 million acres of soybeans with MP coverage in the 2022 crop year.
