DAVIS, Calif., Oct. 31, 2023 – Olive producers in 17 California counties can now benefit from updates the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made to the olive crop insurance program. The changes include updates to contract pricing and an expansion of coverage for oil olives. The Olives insurance program is a multi-peril actual production history (APH) coverage policy offered in California by the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) on irrigated olives commercially grown for table or oil production, with at least four years of production history.

“We want to always make sure we’re providing the best risk management tools for our producers, so we are working with olive producers to provide insurance options that make sense for them and for insurance providers,” said Jeffrey Yasui, RMA Davis Regional Office Director. “These improvements to the olive crop insurance program in California expands the program’s reach and gives producers more options and flexibilities.”

Insurance is currently available for table olives in Butte, Colusa, Fresno, Glenn, Kern, Madera, San Joaquin, Shasta, Stanislaus, Tehama, and Tulare counties. It is available for oil olives in Butte, Colusa, Fresno, Glenn, Madera, Marin, Napa, San Joaquin, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, and Yolo counties.

Coverage is purchased on a two-year basis and insureds must remain in the program for at least two consecutive years. Producers must apply for coverage with a crop insurance agent before January 31 to insure the crop to be harvested in that year and the following year. The program currently offers coverage levels between catastrophic and 75 percent.

In the 2023 crop year, over 24,000 acres ($42 million in liability) was protected under the Olives crop insurance program.

The following changes are applicable for the 2024 and succeeding crop years:

• Allowing contract pricing on oil type olives;
• Expanding coverage for oil type olives to Kerns, Kings, and Merced counties in California; and
• Updating the oil conversion factors and adding an additional variety to the factor table.

The sales closing date for the 2024 crop year is January 31, 2024.

More Information

Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers and online at the RMA Agent Locator. Learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov or by contacting your RMA Regional Office.

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