Pilot Crop Insurance Program to Begin for Pulse Crops

Pilot Crop Insurance Program to Begin for Pulse Crops

I’m KayDee Gilkey with the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report.

Dave Paul, Regional Director for USDA Risk Management Agency, says that after many years of hard work by the pea and lentil industry, this year marks the first for crop insurance combo-revenue programs for pulse crops.

Paul: “It will be a pilot program. The pilot areas will be basically for all counties where we currently file rates and rules for green and yellow peas, lentil and chickpeas. Which is obviously most of the counties in our area where they are being grown. Basically coverage is going to be available for those revenue protection and revenue protection with the harvest price exclusion. So producers that have green and yellow peas, lentils and/or chickpeas will have the same options that they would have under a wheat policy. So they will be very familiar with that as most of these growers also ensure their wheat.”

Paul shares that this product had been developed by the private sector as there is no future or options market for dry peas or lentils.

Paul: “The projected prices are going to be calculated from contracted data prices collected by processors and reported to the Risk Management Agency. The harvest prices, which is what we use to determine a loss, will be calculated from cash prices for processors and cash prices for peas.”

The deadline to purchase pulse crop protection is October first.
I’m KayDee Gilkey with the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.