The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced a $209,000 Partnership Award to CAS to educate Massachusetts agricultural producers about Federal Crop Insurance Programs. The USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) administers the Federal Crop Insurance Program and will oversee the partnership award. The award provides funds to conduct crop insurance education events in locations throughout Massachusetts for producers of numerous insurable crops ranging from apples to nursery crops to tobacco. Crop insurance programs will also be promoted through mailings, articles, and through an advertising campaign.
The partnership will include 22 educational events to be coordinated with regional partners including the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association, the Massachusetts Nursery & Landscape Association, and the Massachusetts Future Farmers of America Association. A partnership website, www.MassAgRisk.com, will be provided to deliver educational information, tools, and a current schedule of educational events.
Federal risk management programs are available in Massachusetts to cover apples, clams, cranberries, field corn, nursery crops, peaches, potatoes, sweet corn, and tobacco. Two whole-farm revenue policies, Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) and Adjusted Gross Revenue-Lite (AGR-Lite), are also available. Federal subsidies for crop insurance programs generally cover over 50 percent of a policy's premium. Key sales closing dates in Massachusetts occur in November and March for 2009 crop year participation in most programs.
The award is funded under RMA's Targeted States Program, which was established to deliver crop insurance education to producers in 15 historically underserved states, including Massachusetts . RMA's Raleigh , North Carolina , Regional Office will provide substantial oversight and expertise to the partnership. The educational sessions will be coordinated and delivered by Custom Ag Solutions, a consulting firm that specializes in the development and delivery of risk management programs, tools, and educational programs.
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