08/23/06 "Combo" insurance proposal I

Farm and Ranch August 23,m 2006 Earlier this summer USDA's Federal Crop Insurance Corporation published for public comment its proposal to amend the Common Crop Insurance Regulations and create a "combo" policy, which would affect such crops as small grains, malting barley and canola and rapeseed. Dave Paul of USDA's Risk Management Agency, says essentially the proposal combines the revenue guarantee plans with the more traditional multi-peril production policies. Paul: "Essentially the goal is to simplify the insurance program to eliminate the redundancy and provide producers in all areas of the country with an opportunity to purchase like coverage. I believe this probably the most significant change that we've made, or probably will make, in our insurance coverage in my history with the agency at least. It is going to shape the direction of many our policies, including small grains in the Pacific Northwest, for the long term future. It is a terrifically important rule change." The proposed rule, which would probably not take affect until the 2009 crop year, is available for public comment until September 12th. The proposal and more information about it is available on the RMA website at www.rma.usda.gov Tomorrow more from Paul on what the proposed combo policy would mean for northwest producers. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.