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Some under-used crop insurance features could save money

A crop insurance agent recommends considering risk management options that provide extra coverage for not much money. Trend-Adjusted Actual Production History (APH) and Yield Exclusion are under-used crop insurance options, according to Mike Scherer, president of Ag Risk Solutions in Atchison, Kansas.

“The research we’ve done, [indicates] it’s by far one of the cheapest ways to increase your coverage,” Scherer told Brownfield Ag News Monday. “Your premium’s going to go up some, but it’s extremely cost-effective.”

Trend-Adjusted APH allows farmers to increase yields used in calculating crop insurance guarantees. Yield Exclusion allows specific years to be dropped from the calculation.

Farmers enrolling in Price Loss Coverage (PLC) can purchase the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO). SCO covers from 86 percent of a producer’s approved yield down to whatever level of multi-peril crop insurance is purchased, said Scherer, adding that there are features unique to SCO.

“A loss doesn’t get triggered by your own yields, it gets triggered by the county yield,” he said. “That’s kind of drawback of it, but the benefit in that is that it ends up being cheaper coverage because of that.”

Farmers enrolled in Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) are not eligible for the SCO. Farmers have until March 15 to decide on crop insurance and other farm program options.