PRF: Easy Ranching Insurance Protection
Pasture, Rangeland, Forage, also called PRF, protects against forage loss on haying or grazing acres due to lack of rainfall. It helps producers cover their increased costs for irrigation, feed, destocking, and depopulation caused by dry periods. A loss payout is owed when the region does not receive enough precipitation within the coverage period.
Main Details
LOSS OCCURS WITHOUT ENOUGH PRECIPITATION
Ranchers may receive a loss payout when their area receives below-average rainfall.
AREA-BASED COVERAGE
Pasture, Rangeland, Forage is based on the precipitation in a specific grid. It is not based on how much rainfall occurred on the specific operation.
COVERAGE
LEVELS
70-90% coverage election options.
AVAILABLE IN ALL COUNTIES
The program once limited is now offered in every contiguous US county.
LOSS PAYOUT IS AUTOMATIC
No loss adjuster is needed to start the indemnity process. The Risk Management Agency (RMA) automatically calculates any loss and PRM processes the loss payment.
NOT DROUGHT INSURANCE
A drought does not automatically create a loss. It also does not insure against high temperatures or windy conditions.
MUST BE BOUGHT BEFORE 12/1
The Sales Close Date and Acreage Reporting Date is December 1st.
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What is the Rainfall Index?
The Rainfall Index is how much precipitation an area has received compared to the long-term average rainfall. The average rainfall is collected and maintained by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. A grid is about 17 miles square, meaning the index reflects the area around you, not a rain gauge on your ranch. In hilly or mountainous country, the grid value may differ from what you see on your own land. Your PRM agent can pull your grid’s history so you know how it has tracked.
WHEN WILL A LOSS PAYMENT OCCUR?
An indemnity may trigger if the precipitation is below the average Rainfall Index at the end of the interval period, depending on your coverage level. Once rainfall exceeds the average Rainfall Index for the interval, there is no way to receive a loss payment. The tracking will begin for the rancher at the next interval period.
INTERVAL PERIODS
Intervals are two-month periods you will have coverage for precipitation shortfalls. Producers can select a minimum of two to a maximum of six intervals. No loss payment will be received if the Rainfall Index is low enough to cause a loss on an interval that was not selected. Your indemnity percentage will be based on your interval percentage selection. Intervals can’t be picked for back-to-back periods. Each interval will have a min and max share of coverage. A PRM agent can help you select the percentages in each interval.
Stocking Requirement: PRF Insures Your Livestock Operation
PRF is tied to the livestock you run, not the land itself. To insure grazing acres, you must certify and be able to prove that you keep livestock on those acres with at least 25% of the stocking rate for that forage type. Acres without livestock are not insurable under PRF.
How the Stocking Rate Is Set
The stocking rate comes from the USDA FSA National Crop Table for your county and forage type, or from your state or federal grazing lease. Private lease rates cannot be used. You do not pick the number.
What It Looks Like in Practice
As an example, USDA rates your county’s native range at 20 acres per cow. On 1,000 insured acres, that’s a full stocking rate of 50 cows. The PRF minimum is 25% of that, so you need to run at least 13 cows on those acres. Every operation is different. Your PRM agent can give you an exact head count based on your county, crop practice, and the type of livestock you run. Whether that’s cows, calves, horses, sheep or a mix.
Keep Your Records
Your records must show you met the 25% minimum. If you destock during a drought, sale and disposition records count. Keep everything for three years after the crop year ends.
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PRF vs LFP vs NAP
Many insurance policies and FSA programs available to ranchers and farmers sound very similar. Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Insurance (PRF) provides protection outside of the catastrophic weather events that the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (FLP) and Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Programs (NAP) do. PRF is an insurance tool to provide additional coverage to a ranching operation. The FSA programs are designed to fill a need during extreme weather events.
