Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is visiting with the head of USDA’s risk management agency, Marcia Bunger, about livestock risk management products.
The growth of livestock risk management products, Bunger said, has been astronomical.
“When I take a look at some of the most recent data, I now believe that LRP (Livestock Risk Protection), one of the livestock products, is now in the top ten of all of the policies that we sell, which is just phenomenal,” Bunger said.
The LRP program, Bunger said, is driven by the Chicago Board of Trade and can be sold by insurance agents and brokers.
“It is a revenue product, so it is protecting the bottom for producers,” Bunger said. “It is relatively easy to purchase, and the broker, the agent, tracks the price, and you, the producer, if you wish to pull the trigger, you just need to get ahold of your agent, your broker. You are locking in rates for price.”
While there are some requirements regarding how long livestock have been owned, Bunger said LRP can be tailored to fit an individual operation.
“Your agent is going to play a critical role in helping you understand how the product works,” Bunger said. “Don’t be ashamed to ask the question over and over again because it is vitally important for you, the buyer of that product, to understand how it is going to work.”
Another policy, Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage (PRF) insurance, also remains popular, Bunger said, as the acreage covered by this program is now more than corn, soybeans, and wheat combined.
“Just off the press is the pilot for weaned calf,” Bunger said. “So now we are looking at ways to help the cow-calf producer, and so that pilot is in a select few states including South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, and Texas, I believe.”
Bunger also talked about an educational effort USDA is planning- a livestock roadshow.
To see the schedule, including session dates in Oklahoma, CLICK HERE.
“We will be going across the country,” Bunger said. “We are doing both in-person and virtually and hosting educational sessions talking about all of our livestock products.
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