What is PRF Insurance?
In recent months, producers across the United States have had to overcome challenges caused by low precipitation. Drought conditions have long-lasting effects on your operation, impacting your crop yield, field conditions, livestock, and bottom line.
During a drought, you may encounter risks like failing to produce enough forage for your animals or paying more for feed. These additional costs can even shrink the key profits you need to keep your farm running into next season.
However, you aren’t alone. Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) Insurance helps you protect your operation against forage loss caused by periods of low rainfall. Let’s look in-depth at PRF, how it works, and how you can benefit from insuring your fields.
What Is Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) Insurance?
Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) Insurance is an insurance program administered by the USDA’s Risk Management Agency with the goal of helping livestock producers safeguard their operations against forage loss caused by lack of rainfall.
When you use PRF, tracking your farm’s rainfall is unnecessary. Instead, PRF uses the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration Climate Prediction Center’s rainfall index data and a grid system to determine your area’s average precipitation. Each grid is approximately 17 by 17 miles.
You can tailor a policy to meet your operation’s needs and set your coverage level between 70 and 90 percent. If your area receives less rainfall than your covered index, you will be entitled to an indemnity payment. This payment is meant to cover the increased cost of forage or other feed costs so you can maintain your herd.
It’s important to note that PRF is not meant to insure your farm against ongoing or severe drought but covers the risk of increased costs resulting from forage loss.
The Benefits of PRF
As this summer has shown, a sudden change in temperature can greatly impact how well your fields perform. While some farmers weren’t as severely affected by high temperatures and dry weather as other producers, preparing your operation against the worst-case scenario is essential.
PRF insurance offers many key benefits, such as:
- Flexible coverage plans. With PRF, you can tailor your policy to meet your operation’s needs. This includes setting your coverage level between 70 and 90 percent to determine the trigger value in case your area receives lower-than-average rainfall.
- Customizable coverage periods. When creating your policy, you will select two intervals, representing two-month periods when rainfall is most important to your operation. This will help target months when proper rainfall is necessary to grow your forage.
- Protect your bottom line. PRF helps you take control of your operation’s future by helping you pay for extra feed costs in times of low precipitation. Rest assured that your bottom line is secured, and you’ll receive an indemnity if your area receives less precipitation than your covered index.
Get Started Today
PRF is available for producers nationwide and helps you secure your operation’s future. However, the deadline for PRF is quickly approaching on December 1.
Taking proactive steps to manage your operation’s risk is never too early. Request a quote for a PRF policy by visiting stockguard.io today!
