USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced it will transition several federal crop insurance programs to a new rainfall data source, replacing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) with data from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
The change will begin on April 30, with the Tropical Storm Option under the Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index program. Additional programs affected include Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF), Annual Forage, Apiculture and Shellfish insurance programs, all of which use precipitation data to calculate coverage and indemnity payments.
PRF, Apiculture and Shellfish programs will move to the new dataset on Aug. 31, while Annual Forage will transition on April 30, 2027.
RMA Administrator Pat Swanson said the update is intended to improve transparency and access to rainfall information for producers and crop insurance agents.
According to RMA, the geographic rainfall grids and overall structure of the insurance programs will remain unchanged, helping minimize disruptions to producers. The agency also expects the updated system to speed up delivery of final grid index values and indemnity payments.
RMA said producers and agents have raised concerns about the current CPC dataset because it requires specialized software to access. The NCEI data will be available in more user-friendly formats, including Microsoft Excel.
The agency also said the transition creates opportunities to add more weather stations over time and provides more consistent technical support through a formal agreement with NCEI.
RMA plans to release updated producer tools and educational resources alongside each program transition date. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
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