10/09/06 Pilot lamb price insurance okayed

American Rancher October 9, 2006 The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation has approved the implementation of the Livestock Risk Protection-Lamb pilot program beginning with the 2007 reinsurance year. All counties in 27 states, including Idaho and Oregon, have been designated part of the pilot. Tim Whitt with the Risk Management Agency in Kansas City, says the program is similar to risk price insurance protection offered to cattle and swine, but it differs in that lamb does not have a futures contract. Whitt: "The product still has some things probably to be fine tuned. The board of directors did have some concerns for a product that is based on sort of a non-exchange traded basis. So they incorporated what we are referring to as circuit breakers in the event prices are not available or there is a problem with the model. So as a result we are looking at finishing up the policy terms, do the systems development work and that. So it will be available sometime after the first of the year. And we are expecting that to be anytime between February and April at this point. That is sort of a target time frame for when we think we will deploy the product, have it out on the street for sale to lamb producers." The American Sheep Industry Association intends to have a seminar on the lamb risk protection pilot program at its convention in January. I'm Bob Hoff.