Section 522(c)(1) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (Act) allows the Risk Management Agency (RMA) to conduct activities or enter into contracts to carry out research and development for underserved agricultural commodities, including specialty crops. Section 522(c)(2)(B) of the Act requires that RMA, prior to commencing research and development activities, consult with groups representing producers of the agricultural commodity that would be served by a policy that resulted from this research and development effort in order to determine the interest level or concerns of producers.

RMA plans to issue a solicitation for a contract for the research and development of a crop insurance product for guar. Prior to the issuance of the contract, RMA seeks any preparatory input from interested parties regarding the following information:

• Level of interest in participating in a guar Federal crop insurance program;
• Any producer concerns about development of a Federal crop insurance program for guar;
• Availability of any existing private insurance products covering guar;
• Types of risks, perils, or issues facing guar producers;
• Potential availability of any state, county, contract, or producer data relating to yield and price; and
• Any other information or relevant issues to be considered when carrying out research and development of a guar crop insurance program.

Please address any input regarding guar crop insurance program research and development by November 18, 2019, to Tara Ponds, Specialty Crops Coordinator, at tara.ponds@usda.gov or mail to:

USDA/RMA/PASD
Beacon Facility, Stop 0813
PO Box 419205
Kansas City, MO 64141-6205
USDA