USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced it has updated insurance options for livestock producers through the Livestock Gross Margin (LGM), Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) and Dairy Revenue Protection programs.
RMA revised the insurance options to reach more producers, offer greater flexibility for protecting livestock operations and meet the needs of dairy and cattle producers. The updates were published for the 2023 crop year, which begins July 1, 2022.
“Great and sound customer service is the most important thing we can provide our nation’s producers, making sure the programs and products we offer give them the most useful tools for covering their risks,” said RMA Administrator Marcia Bunger.
“Agriculture is not a static industry, and these updates reflect the importance we place on always knowing the evolving needs of producers and offering the most people the best risk management tools we can.”
According to RMA, producers can now have both LGM and LRP policies, although they cannot insure the same class of livestock for the same time period or have the same livestock insured under multiple policies.
In addition, LGM will be available in all counties in all 50 states for cattle and dairy producers. For LRP, insurance companies have to pay within 30 days following receipt of the claim, and herd limits have been increased to 12,000 head per endorsement and 25,000 head per crop year for fed and feeder cattle. The termination date has been extended from June 30 to Aug. 31. Location reporting requirements have been relaxed to list only the state and county instead of the precise legal location.
A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers and online at rma.usda.gov by searching for “agent locator.” Producers can also learn more about the programs via the same website by searching for “livestock insurance plans.” — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
