Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: DeDe Jones, 806-677-5600, dljones@ag.tamu.edu
AMARILLO – The deadline is nearing for the perennial Pasture, Range and Forage Insurance sign-up, designed to protect livestock and hay producers against production losses, said DeDe Jones, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service risk management specialist in Amarillo.
The 2015 sign-up and acreage reporting deadline for this U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency program is Nov. 16, and notices of premiums due will be sent by July 1, 2016, Jones said.
“Although most of Texas has ample moisture right now, long-term weather projections are showing a weakening El Nino in the spring and a relatively dry summer,” she said. “Therefore, since producers can choose which months to insure, they might want to consider taking out coverage for later in the 2016 grazing season.”
Payment is not determined by individual damages, but rather area losses based on a grid system, Jones explained. Producers can select any portion of acres to insure, but they must also select between a minimum of two, two-month intervals and a maximum of six, two-month intervals per year.
Coverage levels between 70 and 90 percent are available, she said. Once coverage is selected, the producer chooses a productivity factor between 60 and 150 percent. The productivity factor is a percentage of the established county base value for forage.
The base value is a standard rate published by the Risk Management Agency for each county. It is calculated based on estimated stocking rates and current hay prices, Jones said. For example, Hansford County’s grazing value is $25 per acre.
She said the program uses a rainfall index to determine potential indemnity payments. The rainfall index utilizes National Oceanic and Atmospheric Climate Prediction Center data and a standardized grid system.
A decision-support tool to help producers determine coverage levels and intervals can be found at: http://prf.agforceusa.com/ri.
For more information about the insurance and how it fits into a risk management plan, contact Jones at 806-677-5600 or dljones@ag.tamu.edu.
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