Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Yes—especially when market prices are unpredictable. Livestock insurance like LRP helps you stay in control. It’s a practical way to protect your operation from price crashes while giving you room to profit when the market moves your way.

LRP premiums are subsidized by the USDA, usually between 35% and 55%, depending on your coverage. And because premiums aren’t due until after your coverage ends, it’s a low-cash-flow risk tool for operations of any size.

You choose a floor price and coverage period. If the market falls below that floor, LRP pays you the difference. If the market stays high, you keep the gain and only owe your premium.

If market swings keep you up at night, LRP is worth a look. It helps secure your profit floor while letting you sell into the high side if prices rise. For many ranchers, it's a simple way to protect years of hard work without giving up better prices down the road.

LRP protects your bottom line from market drops—without taking away the upside. You lock in a floor price for your cattle and get paid if the market falls. Premiums are USDA-subsidized and not due until after your coverage ends.

For many producers, yes. PRF is a long-term risk management tool, not a guarantee of yearly payments. When structured correctly using data and expertise, it can help protect your ranching operation from financial volatility. Policies have the best results when customized to your land and rainfall history.

If your insured grid receives less precipitation than your selected coverage level during a covered interval, you receive an indemnity. That indemnity first covers your policy premium. Once your premium is fully paid, any remaining indemnity is paid directly to you. Payments are determined automatically based on NOAA rainfall data—no paperwork or claims required.

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PRF insurance works by measuring precipitation in your specific grid using NOAA data. You choose the two-month periods (called intervals) and coverage levels (between 70%-90%). If precipitation falls below your selected coverage level in that interval, your policy triggers an indemnity. There's no claims process. You only owe a premium if the indemnities don't cover your balance by September 30.

PRF (Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage) insurance is a USDA-subsidized program that protects ranchers from the financial impact of below-average precipitation. It can pay indemnities when precipitation in your local area (grid) falls short of historical averages during the coverage period. It doesn’t insure against visible pasture loss or drought—it strictly covers rainfall volatility.

• All losses are subject to a $100 deductible.
• Indemnity Calculation: Multiply the number of acres destroyed by the insurance per acre (IPA) shown on the Statement of Insurance (SOI), then subtract the $100 deductible. Once a determination is made, a payment will be issued within 30 days.
• A fire department service charge of $500 may be included.

The insurance period is the later of: January 1st of the year you want insurance to December 31st OR 72 hours after receiving your signed application to December 31st.

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Acreage Information: All acreage to be insured in the county where you have a share must be listed. Note, you don’t have to insure all the acreage you have in that county for Pasture Fire.

Share Information: Your leased or owned portion of the land, when the insurance attaches, must be specified.

Note: Applications must be submitted each year and can be purchased at any time. Applicants do not need to have a Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage (PRF) Insurance policy to apply.

• Premiums are based on the rate per $100 of liability.
• The minimum annual premium is $100.
• Premium is due at the time of application submission.
• No refunds are available upon cancellation or reduction of this policy at the request of the insured.
• Rates vary by county.

RI-PRF is being offered in all 48 contiguous states. The expansion for the 2017 crop year covered over 650 million haying and grazing acres. All counties within those 48 states were offered RI-PRF. A few producers did not have coverage because the majority of their grid crossed over either the northern or southern United States borders.

RMA does not utilize the drought monitor because the drought monitor utilizes multiple measurements to determine if an area is in a drought and the severity of the drought an area is experiencing. The PRF program is a single peril program, the lack of precipitation is the only insurable cause of loss covered under this program.

NOAA CPC is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center, which is the data set used in the PRF Program.

The PRF policy is an area-based insurance plan that covers perennial pasture, rangeland, or forage used to feed livestock. It provides producers a risk management tool to cover the precipitation needed to produce forage for their operation.

NOAA states the following on their website, www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboututc.shtml, regarding Coordinated Universal Time (UTC):Weather observations around the world (including surface, radar, and other observations) are always taken with respect to a standard time. By convention, the world's weather communities use a twenty four hour clock, similar to "military" time based on the 0° longitude meridian, also known as the Greenwich meridian.Prior to 1972, this time was called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) but is now referred to as Coordinated Universal Time or Universal Time Coordinated (UTC). It is a coordinated time scale, maintained by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). It is also known as "Z time" or "Zulu Time".

A grid is the physical area under which your operation is insured. You are paid based on the losses interpolated to the grid for the Rainfall Index, which is why it is important that you choose the right grid(s) in which your operation is located. If you have any questions about your grid(s) identification number, or for more information on how grids are measured please contact your crop insurance agent.

PRF Insurance is USDA subsidized insurance that uses rainfall data to provide coverage to insured producers when rainfall falls below coverage levels.