Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: DeDe Jones, 806-677-5600, DLJones@ag.tamu.edu\
AMARILLO – Although recent rains have livestock producers looking at green pastures, most know it can turn dry quickly and may want protection against drought loss on annual forage crops, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialist.
The first deadline to sign up for the Rainfall Index – Annual Forage Insurance plan, known as RI-AF, is coming in July, said DeDe Jones, AgriLife Extension risk management specialist in Amarillo.
The risk policy is designed to allow livestock producers to look at possible future weather conditions and buy protection against losses due to a lack of moisture, Jones said.
The sign-up deadline for RI-AF is July 15 for the fall growing season, Sept. 1 through March 31, 2017. Dec. 15 is the deadline for the spring season, which is March 1-Sept. 30, 2017.
Jones said RI-AF is similar to Pasture Range and Forage Insurance, or PRF insurance, but the difference lies in the type of commodity covered. PRF covers perennial grasses, rangeland and hay types, while RI-AF is for annual forage crops, such as wheat, oats, rye and triticale in the fall or Sudan grass, haygrazer, dryland sorghum silage and millet in the spring.
Payment is not determined by individual damages, but rather area losses based on a grid system, she said. RI-AF requires coverage on all certified acres not intended for grain production, and the same crop can’t be covered on both a multi-peril policy and RI-AF policy.
Coverage levels between 70 and 90 percent of annual rainfall are available, she said. A loss is triggered when actual rainfall for an area is less than the chosen coverage level for the time period selected.
Producers also choose a protection factor between 60 and 150 percent, which is a price multiplier that allows an increase or decrease in the policy’s base value. Each county has a base value established by the Risk Management Agency.
Once coverage is selected, participants must divide coverage among three two-month intervals per growing season, Jones said. There are seven months in each growing season, and months of coverage cannot overlap.
To sign up, producers should contact their local crop insurance agent, Jones said.
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