The latest farm bill passed last year means multiple changes, including additions to 2015 crop insurance.

Ag experts say there are three big changes of note.

Since the Farm Bill has passed, some notable changes are now in place and could impact how growers approach their insurance options for the upcoming year.

One new insurance addition is the Supplemental Coverage Option.

If producers opt for Price Loss Coverage, or the PLC farm program option, by the end of March, they are eligible to purchase Supplemental Coverage Option, or SCO insurance.

SCO is based on county-wide average yields, compared to individual farm yields with typical crop insurance policies.

Kent Thiesse, a Farm Management Analyst, says, "The individual coverage is calculated based on your individual farm units, the actual yields, and price. Whereas the SCO coverage is county-wide coverage based on average county yields and the average price."

Maximum coverage with the SCO endorsement is 86% versus the individual coverage cap of 85%; for example, if a grower purchases 75% coverage with a PLC option, they are eligible to purchase an additional 11% SCO coverage.

Another new option this year is Yield Exclusion.

The APH Yield Exclusion option may be viable for farmers impacted by reduced yields.

Yield Exclusion is available in eligible counties when a year's yield does not reach greater than 50% of the ten-year average. If that occurs, it is dropped from the APH yield guarantee calculation.

No counties in our region qualify for this option for 2015.

Thiesse says, "The yield exclusion in our area is probably a non-issue just because you have to be eligible for it to use it and it doesn't look like we're going to have counties in our area that are eligible."

A final significant change is the requirement for being in compliance with USDA Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation provisions in order to qualify for federal subsidies for crop insurance premiums.

Thiesse, "For farmers that have been in the traditional farm programs, or taken advantage of disaster programs, or conservation programs, they're [likely] already in compliance with the Highly Erodible Conservation and Wetland provisions that the federal government has."

Growers not in compliance would need to do so by June 1, 2015, or not be eligible to receive federal subsidies for insurance premiums.

Growers are encouraged to work with their local insurance agent to determine this year's best policies before the March 15 deadline.

Source - http://www.keyc.com