At Ag Partners, we recommend that Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) always be an integral part of any farm's risk management strategy. There is no other way to protect the number of bushels or revenue per acre that the MPCI program can at the premiums per acre that it costs. That is due to a shared governmental investment in those premiums to help mitigate disasters in a much better way than the ad hoc programs can.
Ag Partners offers a complete selection of crop insurance products to help cover the unknown risks that can be problematic for a profitable year. Risks like weather or falling markets can be greatly reduced or eliminated by putting a guarantee on the minimum amount of revenue per acre you will receive. The list of Federal MPCI programs that we offer includes:
We also offer an extensive line of private products as well, including:
The insurance calendar is ready to flip to 2023, and we wanted to start with some updates. Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) insurance will begin it’s 2023 policy year starting July 1st. This Federally subsidized insurance lets cattle producers set a floor price on their cattle and protect profit margins. With the volatility in our markets today, the ability to protect downside risk will be key. The good news is that the 2023 LRP pricing structure is not changing, so it will still be priced very competitively versus Put Options. There are a few other changes worth mentioning for 2023, including a weight increase to allow insurance of 1,000lb feeder cattle and 1,600lb fed cattle. The annual limit of 12,000 head per year has also been increased to 25,000 head to allow more head per policy.
One of the most important changes for the 2023 policy year comes in the form of deadlines. In past years RMA would allow a producer to sign up for LRP and transfer their policy at any point of the year. For 2023, and going forward, there will be no transfers of previous policies after June 30th, so you will be locked in for 12 months, similar to how MPCI policies function. There has never been a better time than now to considered LRP insurance for your operation. We are happy to answer any of your LRP questions at Ag Partners, so please don’t hesitate to reach out with the deadline approaching.
Most crops appeared off to a good start as planting wrapped up, which means it’s time to complete Acreage Reporting on your MPCI policy. The deadline for turning in planting information is coming up in July so remember to put it on the To-Do list. This is also the time of year we hope for steady rainfall. Unfortunately, strong storms are usually required to produce it. If you have questions around hail and wind insurance, there is still time to sign up this summer or even increase your current coverage. Let us know if we can help answer questions around these insurance products.
USDA released the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) this year and sent information to producers. While we don’t expect many ERP payments within our local counties, the insurance team at Ag Partners has some resources to help clear up questions producers might have about this program. As with most USDA programs, your local FSA office will administer the ERP program and have final say on ERP information and rules.
Another hot subject as we head through Summer is the outlook for 2023 crops. We expect some areas of northeast Kansas to take a more serious look at planting winter wheat this fall, followed by double-crop soybeans in the summer of 2023. The Federal Government has mentioned the expansion of counties where double-crop soybeans will be fully insurable, but we will have to wait and see where the line is drawn. Currently most counties north of Interstate 70 are not insurable and must have a written agreement for double crop soybeans. We probably won’t know until later in 2022 which new counties might be eligible, but we will be sure to send an update once we know more. To prepare for wheat/double-crop soybeans, we do suggest producers review their current MPCI insurance policy to confirm they have wheat coverage in place. Especially if an operation hasn’t planted wheat in several years: the coverage could have been removed. The deadline to add or adjust your wheat coverage is September 30th, so don’t hesitate to call Jim Ward or Darcy Pralle at Ag Partners if you would like to talk through double cropping procedures and coverages.
I’d like to start with a quick introduction. I’m Darcy Pralle, a Crop Insurance Specialist who recently joined the Risk Management Team with Jim Ward here at Ag Partners Cooperative. I’ve been involved in the crop insurance industry for several years, and I look forward to serving our producers at Ag Partners.
I wanted to touch on a couple of subjects as we move into planting season. If you have any replant, prevent plant, or coverage questions on your MPCI policy, please let us know, and we can walk you through scenarios. The crop we plant this spring will be one of the most expensive for our producers but has the potential to be one of the most valuable as well. With such a high-risk, high-reward situation, the thought of adding extra protection with hail and wind insurance could give you some peace of mind. In addition, if you currently purchase hail and wind coverage, you might consider increasing that coverage to account for the higher crop values this year. If you have questions, we are happy to discuss these products and how they can help your operation.
For cattle operations, especially those feeding cattle, the Livestock Risk Protection “LRP” insurance policy has seen some changes in the last couple of years that are worth mentioning. In the past, if you wanted to lock in a floor price on your feeders (similar to a Put Option) with LRP insurance, you had to pay for the premium upfront, and the subsidy levels were fairly low. These rules have changed, and no premium is due till the end of your LRP insurance period. Also, the subsidy has increased by 10% or more on most levels, so LRP policies are now competitively priced versus the traditional Put Option. Typically, the cow-calf operations didn’t have much for choices either, but with the changes came an “unborn” category to lock in LRP insurance on future calves as well. Several other advantages make LRP more flexible than Put Options, so if any cattle producers have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.
As a reminder, if you have pasture/hay ground, the annual signup for Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (“PRF”- Rainfall Insurance) will be in the Fall. We will be sure to keep you up to date and have more information on the benefits of this insurance program later this year. Good luck this Planting Season, and please feel free to reach out to your dedicated Risk Management team at Ag Partners with any questions.