 Welcome to this informational video on pasture, rangeland, and forage insurance. Pasture, rangeland, and forage insurance, also known as PRF, is an insurance product offered nationwide by the USDA Risk Management Agency. PRF ensures against low rainfall that would decrease perennial forage yields, lowering revenues or increasing livestock feeding costs. Row crop farmers have had access to crop insurance for decades, while livestock producers have traditionally been underserved in this area. Hay and livestock producers may already be familiar with the livestock forage disaster assistance and NAP programs offered through the USDA Farm Service Agency. These programs provide protection against catastrophic losses in forage production from extreme drought conditions. PRF can be purchased to supplement these programs by providing risk management coverage for lower-than-average rainfall that results in profit loss but may not be categorized as a catastrophic loss. PRF is an area-based insurance product, meaning insurance payouts are not directly linked to actual forage yields or livestock performance. PRF insurance is based on rainfall measured in a grid system, where grids are a quarter-degree latitude by a quarter-degree longitude. These grids do not follow county lines or town boundaries. In the U.S., grids are roughly 13 miles by 18 miles. It would be difficult to measure rainfall on every individual farm, so PRF is based on a rainfall index for each grid. The index is calculated based on rainfall totals from the four closest NOAA weather stations. For example, assume you have grazing land located at the top right corner of the displayed grid. On June 21st, it rains on the western half of the grid, but not on the eastern half. The weather stations near the western half measure one-and-a-half and two-and-a-half inches of rainfall, while the stations on the eastern half receive no rain. These values are average to calculate the total rainfall for the grid for that day, which amounts to one inch. The grids are small enough that, over time, the average rainfall totals from the weather station should be very close to the amount collected on your pasture. This reduces the cost of implementing the program and ultimately makes participation easier than if you had to report individual data from your farm. With PRF, you get paid when the rainfall index in your grid falls below its 70-year average. The coverage level you choose determines at what level your insurance kicks in. You can ensure from 70% to 90% of average historical rainfall. Higher coverage levels have higher costs because you are more likely to collect an indemnity. Government subsidy levels also vary with coverage level. With the highest coverage level of 90%, 51% of the insurance costs will be paid by the government. While with the lowest coverage level, 59% of the insurance costs will be paid by the government. Producers can enroll any acreage with perennial forage intended to be grazed or harvested for hay production. If you enroll in PRF, you can have multiple policies, convenient if you have both hay and grazing acreage. You do not have to enroll all of your acreage even within a specific pasture. USDA RMA sets a base value per acre for hay and grazing acreage in each county. The base value will typically be higher on hayland than on grazing land. These values are calculated using historical data from your county. By selecting the productivity factor, you can adjust your insured value per acre to better represent your specific acreage. Productivity factors range from 60% to 150%. Your insured value determines how much you will pay in premiums and collect if the payment is triggered. For example, in the Moultrie, Georgia area, the base value for grazing is $39 per acre. If you think your pasture land is less valuable, you can choose a low productivity factor and ensure a value per acre as low as $23.40. On the other hand, more productive land in this county can be valued up to $58.50 per acre. If you are insuring hay acreage, you also choose whether your acreage is irrigated or not, and if your hay acreage is certified or transitional organic. These selections will also impact the insured value of your acreage. Something that sets PRF apart from other types of crop insurance is that you select the months to insure against low rainfall. The year is divided into 11 different two-month intervals that you place coverage in. You place a percentage into each interval you want to insure, and these percentages must add up to 100%. Typically, you must place a minimum of 10% in an interval, and the maximum you can place is 50%, meaning you cannot place all coverage in one interval. The maximum percentage does vary by location. You also cannot select two intervals, including the same month. The selection of intervals allows you to customize the insurance coverage to your operation. For example, if you have a primarily behia grass pasture in North Alabama, you may consider placing coverage earlier and later than if your pasture was primarily Bermuda grass, given the different growing season and periods when rainfall would be important. Overall, PRF offers potential advantages as a customizable risk management strategy for livestock and hay producers. However, PRF is not a sufficient strategy on its own and should be used with other risk management practices such as forage diversification and grazing management. If you are interested in PRF insurance, it must be purchased through an authorized crop insurance agent. USDA RMA provides an online crop insurance agent locator. Your local FSA or extension office should also be able to help you locate an agent. USDA RMA also provides an online tool to assist with your PRF decisions. The enrollment deadline for each year is November 15 of the prior year. The premium payment deadline is September 1 of the following year, so premiums do not need to be paid upfront. Again, premiums are subsidized, so at least half of the premium will be paid for you. We hope you enjoyed this informational video about pasture, rangeland, and forage insurance. Funding for the production of this video came from the following sources, the Southern and Northeast Centers for Extension Risk Management Education, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.