On the use of whole-farm revenue protection by speciality crop producers in New York State

Abstract

RMA created Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) to meet the needs of small and mid-sized diverse farms who are underserved by crop insurance. WFRP has several benefits for diversified specialty crop producers who engage in direct marketing as the insurance covers actual farm historic revenue rather than reimbursements based on wholesale prices of crops, subsidized premiums for diversified crops, and allows producers to cover most of a farm’s commodities (crops and livestock) in a single policy. Despite these benefits, few fruit and vegetable farms in the Northeast have enrolled in the WFRP. We discuss the role of the program, its current use nationally and in New York State, and compare premiums and payments between WFRP and a representative farm’s likely alternatives: a Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) Actual Production History policy available for certain commodities in certain counties or a Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) policy available where FCIP is not. Finally, we discuss some ongoing challenges in the adoption of WFRP by specialty crop producers in New York State.