Conferences
Participation and Interval Selection in Pasture Rangeland and Forage Insurance
Kate Fuller
Summary
Pasture Rangeland and Forage (PRF) insurance is a rainfall index insurance product that has been available throughout the continental U.S. since 2016. During that time, PRF participation has expanded, driving the majority of growth in the Federal Crop Insurance Program (Turner et al., 2023). We explore trends in participation at the county level in years 2016-2024. We find that the majority of PRF expansion has taken place in western states where drought has been more widespread and where forage producers are more reliant on rainfall. We also find that while participation outside of growing season months has expanded over time, the majority of policies and acres under PRF coverage are purchased for growing season months. We also find that the total net transfer to producers (indemnities less the premiums paid by producers) was positive in every year, although it varies over region, level and season of coverage, as well as policy type. While we do observe a trend of increasing PRF participation outside of the growing season, we do not observe such a trend in net transfer accruing to months outside the growing season. This suggests that purchasing coverage outside the growing season (which is typically not aligned with risk management needs) provides negligible long-term benefit compared to purchasing coverage aligned with the local growing season.
Details
| Conference | 2026 Extension Risk Management Education National Conference |
| Presentation Type | Poster |