RMA released changes to the Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Rainfall Index Plan of Insurance for the 2020 crop year via PM-19-049 on August 30, 2019. A summary of the 2020 changes is shown below:
• Updated 2020 Crop Provisions, Basic Provisions and Insurance Standards Handbook
o Added Beginning/Veteran Farmer language to the PRF policy and other changes from the 2018 Farm Bill and minor editorial edits
o New policy documents are available on the RMA website
• Acceptable Verifiable Records of Insurable Interest in Livestock (livestock ownership is a requirement of coverage)
o For the intended use of Grazing, insurable interest in the crop is based on the interest in the
livestock and not the land, specifically the interest in the livestock to be grazed on the insured acres or the insured’s percentage of the value gained of the livestock being grazed on the insured acres
• While not advertised as a change by RMA in the bulletin referenced above, this is the procedure for 2020, which essentially prohibits the rancher who owns Grazing land but does not have an interest in any cattle on that land from taking out a PRF policy with an intended use of Grazing
• See the Handbook in Exhibit 8, A. Insurable Interest and 8, B. Share and Cash Grazing Leases for more information
o Insureds must maintain acceptable verifiable records showing their insurable interest of the
livestock in the state for three years after the end of the crop year
o If requested, those records must be provided and failure to do so will result in no indemnity being due for the crop year in which such failure occurs, and premium is still owed
• Records will be requested for any audits, reviews, or spot-checks required by RMA
o See Section 8, (a) in the crop provisions for what RMA deems acceptable verifiable records
• PRF Leases and Determining Share
o RMA is putting a renewed emphasis on PRF leases and determining share, partly due to their recent PRF Program Review
o Added language in the Handbook clarifying share determination and examples of written
documentation of share, including, but not limited to:
• Lease
• Agreement outlining insured interest in insured crop
o Clarified that an FSA578 is NOT acceptable documentation for determining shares
o New Lease Certification Form approved for use by AIPs, but it does not replace the use of an actual lease
• Point of Reference
o Point of Reference maps printed from the RMA website are no longer needed with the Application. AIPs can use their own mapping software to provide the Point of Reference, which is now required on the PRF acreage report and must include longitude and latitude coordinates. We will provide more details on our process for incorporating this change into our forms and systems in the coming weeks
• Acreage Crossing State Lines
o New language in the policy that states contiguous acreage crossing state lines must be insured in the state where the majority of the insured acres are located, or, separated and insured in the respective states with two points of reference
• Native Sod (NS) Requirements Added
o Applicable in the Native Sod states of IA, MN, MT, NE, ND and SD on native sod acreage tilled after December 20, 2018
o NS acreage will have liability based on a 65% Protection Factor and a premium subsidy 50
percentage points less than would otherwise be provided
o These “penalties” are applicable during four cumulative crop years of insurance within the first ten crop years after initial tillage on native sod acreage (2018 Farm Bill rules)
o NS must be tilled before these provisions apply, so if insuring existing NS acreage as Grazing under PRF, there is no impact. If the insured tills NS acreage and then plants back to a perennial grass/forage and insures those acres under PRF, the NS rules come into play
