LGM-Dairy Sales & Crop, Range, and Pasture Conditions

USDA’s Risk Management Agency has announced that a small amount of Livestock Gross Margin-Dairy insurance will be offered for sale August 31. RMA determined that $2.5 million remains available from fiscal year 2012’s $20 million that was allocated for all LGM policies. RMA’s Jo Lynne Seufer explains.

SEUFER: The Livestock Gross Margin-Dairy sales will be open this Friday for the first time since last November. We ran out of capacity manager dollars last November, and getting to the end of the fiscal year we have found some additional funding. So we are going to offer the sales again this Friday, August 31.

Approximately $13.1 million in total underwriting capacity was used for LGM-Dairy in the October and November 2011 sales periods. At the end of that sales period RMA determined LGM-Dairy sales should cease in order to facilitate sales of the other seven plans of insurance that insure livestock. RMA is encouraging all dairy producers to contact their livestock insurance agent as soon as possible.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, crop conditions for corn and soybeans declined just slightly during the week ending August 26.  Corn rated very poor to poor climbed one percentage point to 52%. National rangeland and pasture conditions were reported as remaining virtually unchanged for a fourth consecutive week, with a record-high 59% rated very poor to poor. In Washington state range and pasture condition were were reported as 45 percent good, 35 percent fair, 16 percent poor, and 4 percent very poor.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.