Specialty Crops

Crop Insured: Specialty crops include fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture nursery crops (including floriculture). For a current list of specialty crops for which you can buy individual crop insurance: https://rma.usda.gov/en/Topics/Specialty-Crops

RMA also offers the Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) insurance program, which is the first Federal crop insurance program to be available in every state and county in the United States. WFRP provides a risk management safety net for all commodities on the farm under one insurance policy and is tailored for any farm with up to $8.5 million in insured revenue. This includes farms with specialty or organic commodities (both crops and livestock), or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identity preserved, specialty, or direct markets. WFRP provides protection against the loss of insured revenue due to an unavoidable natural cause of loss. For more information on WFRP: https://rma.usda.gov/en/Policy-and-Procedure/Insurance-Plans/Whole-Farm-Revenue-Protection

Federal crop insurance coverage for specialty crops has grown steadily over the past 15 years and the amount of insurance for specialty crops totaled more than $18 billion in 2019.

Product Development for Specialty Crops: The 2018 Farm Bill provided some new requirements for RMA’s Specialty Crops program. In response, RMA has set a priority to seek new ways to provide risk management tools for specialty crops. The agency has made significant progress in research and development of innovative risk management products for producers of specialty crops. RMA continually seeks feedback from and responds to commodity organizations and industry stakeholders who either desire a new Federal crop insurance product or an enhancement to an existing product. RMA is committed to exploring options for providing coverage to specialty crops while considering producer interest and the efficient use of taxpayer dollars.

Written Agreements: If you would like to request insurance for a specialty crop that is not insurable in your county, but is insurable in other counties, you may complete and submit a Request for Actuarial Change through a crop insurance agent. RMA Regional Offices are authorized to review Requests for Actuarial Change and approve requests for written agreements on behalf of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. For more information on Written Agreements: https://rma.usda.gov/-/media/RMAweb/Handbooks/Underwriting---24000/Written-Agreement/2020-24020-Written-Agreement-Handbook.ashx.

Specialty Crops Liaisons: RMA’s Regional Offices serve as a local point of contact to ensure that local issues, concerns, and differences are considered. Specialty Crops Liaisons are designated in each RMA Regional Office to assist in identifying the risk management needs of local specialty crop producers. Producers are encouraged to contact their local Specialty Crops Liaison for information concerning crop insurance coverage for specialty crops: https://rma.usda.gov/Topics/Specialty-Crops.

The Specialty Crops web page also includes information about efforts to provide and expand crop insurance for specialty crops producers, outreach events, and an online mechanism to provide comments pertaining to specialty crops. If you have feedback on how we can improve coverage for specialty crops, please email us at SpecialtyCrops@rma.usda.gov.

Where to Buy Crop Insurance: All multi-peril crop insurance, including CAT policies, are available from private insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available on the RMA web site at www.rma.usda.gov/Information-Tools/Agent-Locator.

Note: PDF version looks different than website but content is exactly the same.

: This fact sheet gives only a general overview of the crop insurance program and is not a complete policy. For further information and an evaluation of your risk management needs, contact a crop insurance agent.

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