Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP)

Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) has been expanded to all counties in the U.S. for the 2016 crop year. For the first time, growers of grain, specialty products and other ag-related commodities nationwide can participate in this highly subsidized federal crop insurance program, authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill. Other key modifications to WFRP include adjusted documentation requirements to better reflect farm record-keeping, reduced limits on specific types of products, and new accommodations for beginning and expanding farms.

WFRP was designed to insure all commodities on a farm under one insurance policy, and it is one of the latest and best products for risk management on the market today. WFRP protects farmers against loss of revenue from commodities produced as well as commodities purchased for resale during the insurance period, and also provides replant coverage for annual crops.

WFRP allows farmers to insure whichever is lower, a 5-year average of historic revenue or expected revenue for the current year, across all commodities on the farm under one insurance policy. Designed to provide farms with coverage for 50 to 85% of their projected income, WFRP insures up to a cap of $8.5 million in revenue guaranteed. Producers who are eligible include those growing specialty or organic commodities – both crops and livestock, or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identity preserved, or direct markets.

In addition to geographic expansion, 2016 changes to WFRP include:

• Records requirements for farms who market their products directly to consumers via such outlets as farmer’s markets or roadside stands now better reflect the type of records these farmers keep on their sales and marketing efforts.
• Adjustments have been made to limits previously in place for nursery/greenhouse products and animals/animal products. Producers may now qualify for WFRP if their farm has up to $1 million of expected revenue from either of these types of products – and the former 35% limit has been removed in both categories.
• Farms demonstrating physical growth also gain from 2016 WFRP changes. Increased acreage, an addition like a greenhouse, changes to varieties or planting patterns, or any other production capacity change – may now qualify these farms to increase their insurance guarantee by up to 35% of their average revenue history, instead of the previously allowed increase of 10%.
• Another new accommodation within the WFRP policy makes Beginning Farmers and Ranchers (BFRs) who qualify eligible to obtain coverage with a minimum of 3 years of tax history, if they also farmed the year before the insured year – the needed 5-year revenue history is constructed across these four years. In addition, BFRs qualify for an additional 10%premium subsidy.
• Similarly, changes to WFRP in 2016 accommodate producers who were prevented from farming for a year due to circumstances beyond their control, such as illness or military service, via construction of a 5-year revenue history from four years.
• Finally, entities that are tax exempt but eligible for Federal benefits, such as Tribal Entities, also may be eligible for coverage, if third-party verifiable records can be converted.

With these changes and full, national availability, WFRP is an even greater risk management option for many producers, offering some of the lowest crop insurance rates and highest subsidies available and insuring actual revenue, not an indexed income value.  Coverage levels are determined depending on an eligible farm’s commodity count. The more commodities you grow, the higher the levels of coverage and subsidy rates that are available to you. Farms producing at least three commodities of economic significance qualify for the highest levels of coverage and the highest subsidies.

“We are very excited to offer WFRP to farmers,” says Silveus Insurance Group President Scott Silveus. “Whether you’re a small, specialty crop grower or a large-acreage grain producer, WFRP could be an excellent fit for your operation. And purchasing multi-peril crop insurance alongside WFRP further lowers your premiums. This is one of the best risk management buys in all of crop insurance.”

Want to know more? Click here to watch a video about WFRP, and click here to request  a free demo. You can access a complete list of Silveus Agents here.