OTA.COM 45 However, use of WFRP has declined thanks to an over-complicated application, confusing policy requirements, and the lack of interest by many crop insurance agents and crop insurance companies to sell the product. This is unfortunate since it’s the only approach to crop insurance that incentivizes crop and livestock diversity, which according to USDA has great potential to address climate disruption. It is also the only crop insurance product that provides highquality revenue-risk protection for almost any product and is available nationwide. Additional recent changes by RMA beyond redefining organic agriculture include: • The ability of farmers to hay, graze, chop cover crops for silage, haylage, or baleage after having received a prevented planting insurance payment. The intent of this change is to encourage cover cropping which is a conservation practice used by almost all organic farmers. This change in policy occurred as a response to the pandemic disruptions and a desire by RMA to further promote cover cropping. • Added flexibility to the “1 and 4” rule as to when land can and cannot be eligible for prevented planting coverage. The “1 and 4” rule required that to be eligible for a prevented planting coverage, the specific insured land must have been planted, insured, and harvested in at least one of the four most recent years. • Allows only organic farmers who use WFRP to make adjustments for rapid gross revenue expansion in estimating the revenue guarantee for insurance coverage possibly leading to better over-all coverage. • Introduction of a “micro” option for users of WFRP, such that if applicants have less than a historic gross revenue of $100,000 (or $125,000 if a previous user of WFRP), onerous application and policy requirements that are part of a regular WFRP are waived. For instance, a regular WFRP requires the tracking of historical and current year expenses such that if one does not spend at least 70% of their historical expenses in the year of insurance, a penalty is assessed. This requirement is waived for the micro option. Jeff Schahczenski is an agriculture and natural resource economist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and co-author of Is Organic Farming Risky? Improving Crop Insurance for Organic Farms, available for free download at https://attra.ncat.org/ product/is-organic-farming-risky/. Resources: For a look at related press releases: Conservation and Climate; Organic Expansion & WFRP and proposed rules and how to comment at: www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ FR-2021-11-30/pdf/2021-25925.pdf. Morris, M., Belasco, E., Schahczenski, J., 2019. Is Organic Farming Risky? Improving Crop Insurance for Organic Farms. National Center for Appropriate Technology, Butte, Montana. See: USDA Action Plan for Climate Adaptation and Resilience 2021 at: www.sustainability.gov/pdfs/usda2021-cap.pdf. For Beautiful Produce and Healthy Soil Produced on the Washington Coast by Creative AG Products Inc. www.pacificgro.com Pacific Gro helps produce beautiful, highly nutritious organic berries and vegetables, as well as tree fruit and nuts, forage and row crops. Proven at large scale both soil-applied and as a foliar, and available throughout the West and Mid-West. Provides amino acid nitrogen, plant available calcium, fish oil and marine nutrients and enzymes. Made of salmon and microbially digested crab shell. Improves nutrient uptake Delivers plant-available calcium Helps microbes feed and defend the crop Builds healthy fungal populations
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