USDA Releases Update to ECO

Recently at the end of July the USDA through the RMA decided to make some adjustments to the Enhanced Coverage Option or ECO insurance program. This crop insurance endorsement is designed to provide more options for producers when managing their risk. Currently, ECO works as an endorsement to the underlying policy. If a producer should choose yield protection, then ECO would cover yield loss, and if they chose revenue protection, the endorsement would cover revenue loss. The ECO program is an area-based coverage for a portion of a producer’s underlying crop insurance policy deductible. For more details on how enhanced coverage option works, check out the RMA’s fact sheet on it, or visit our ECO product page!

At the time of the RMA update, ECO was approved to cover 36 different crops. With the changes, ECO will also work with almonds, apples, blueberries, grapes, and walnuts. These new crops will have availability for ECO in the 2025 crop year. Additionally, this will also expand to citrus crops where the Supplemental Coverage Option is currently available in California and Arizona for the 2026 crop year.

On top of the new crops to be covered by ECO, the RMA is increasing premium support for all crops covered by ECO to 65% premium subsidy to help make the program more affordable for producers. This is a 14% increase for ECO on yield protection which was originally at 51% percent premium subsidy, and an increase of 21% for revenue protection which was originally at 44% premium subsidy.