Risk Management Agency Changes Livestock, Dairy Insurance

Ranchers can insure more of their cattle and hogs using Livestock Risk Protection, which shields against drops in market prices, based on changes announced by USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) that become effective July 1. Coverage has expanded to all states, and the federal government will cover up to 35% of premiums, compared with 13% under prior rules. The updated Dairy Revenue Protection removed the 70% and 75% coverage levels and modified the minimum declared butterfat from 3.5 to 2.5 pounds. The program insures for unexpected declines in the quarterly revenue from milk sales compared with a guaranteed coverage level. As for the Livestock Gross Margin program, livestock individual capacity limitation was removed for cattle, swine, and dairy which was previously limited to $20 million per fiscal year. Plus, dairy producers will be able to utilize LGM and the new Dairy Margin Coverage program from FSA on the same production via a change contained in the 2018 Farm Bill.