A report from USDA’s Economic Research Service shows that the amount of specialty crops enrolled in federal risk management programs has nearly doubled in the last ten years. The value of specialty crops insured by FCIP (i.e., liabilities) increased from about $12 billion in 2011 to about $21 billion in 2020 (not adjusted for inflation).
The States with the most policies are top producers of fruits and vegetables—California, Florida, and Washington—and specialty field crops such as dry beans or dry peas—Montana and North Dakota. Historically, specialty crop growers had fewer tools for managing risk than growers of major field crops like corn and soybeans. However, since 1994, several provisions in successive Farm Bills expanded U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) products for specialty crops. Organic specialty crops may be exposed to additional risks due to fewer market participants and poor data availability.
The report studied numbers for two programs, the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP).
Listen to Sabrina Halvorson’s program here.
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour and The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.