Whole-Farm Revenue Protection
A little while ago, I heard on the news about a farmer that had a herd of cattle. A thunderstorm rolled over his farm, so several of his cows decided to seek shelter under a tree. Lightning then struck the tree and unfortunately 31 of his cows DIED! Only 16 of his herd remained.
It is much more than losing 31 cows though. He now has to go out and buy new cows, maybe a couple bulls. Then, assuming the cows he purchased are not bred, he has to wait around for that pesky gestation cycle. Meaning, he lost a LOT of his cattle income for at least two years.
I worked as a credit analyst for the farm credit associations in our area for about 14 years before I decided to go into the crop insurance business. During this time, I saw a lot of cattle operations in our area. I don’t remember a single one saying they had their cattle insured.
Something like this could be devastating to the livelihood of your farm; it isn’t just a little hit to your bottom line for one year.
This is where the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection plan of insurance could be worth considering. This plan is meant to protect a farm against loss of approved revenue due to unavoidable natural causes that occur during the insurance period.
Coverage is a revenue guarantee based on the lower of:
Your expected revenue for the insurance year, or
the adjusted five-year historical average of allowable Schedule F income on a calendar or fiscal year basis
A farmer must have farmed for a minimum of 4 years to qualify for this program… because a historical income trend has to be established. The WFRP determines farm revenue based on the farm’s federal tax returns, so the insurance period is based on the farmer’s tax year.
This plan of insurance is well suited for (but not limited to) highly diverse farms, farms with specialty commodities, livestock producers, and/or growers that contract their commodities with processors. According to recent information for this plan of insurance, coverage applies to all commodities on the farm except timber, forest, and forest products; and animals for sport, show, or pets. However, please note - that statement is not an offer of insurance; call your crop insurance agent and discuss all your farm revenue streams before signing up for this program.
Coverage levels ranging from 50% - 85% are available in 5% increments. However, diversification of 3 commodities is required for the 80-85% coverage levels. The insured revenue is determined by multiplying the selected coverage level (50% to 85%) times the approved revenue.
Premium subsidy is available, depending on the extent of the farm’s diversification.
This is based on available information at the time of this writing but could change in the future. Beginning Farmers and Ranchers would not have an Admin Fee and would qualify for an additional 10% subsidy, according to information available at this time.
I would love to get you a quote if you are interested in this plan, so please reach out with any questions you may have.
Updated 5/26/2025
This information is not all inclusive and is meant to be used for general guidelines for educational purposes only. You the reader assume full responsibility for how you choose to use it. For additional information, please see crop provisions, reference the crop insurance handbook or loss adjustment manual, or contact your crop insurance agent. This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.