| Development of a Risk Management Program for Pasture/Rangeland and Forage Watts and Associates is currently developing an insurance product for producers who rely on pasture, dryland native/tame hay, and range. While many agricultural producers have had access to risk management tools for their operations, there have been no Federal programs offered to producers relying on pastureland, forage, and rangeland (PF&R). The new product offers the ability to insure revenue on a year-to-year basis. The new PF&R Revenue Insurance Pilot Program we proposed is designed to remedy the inequity experienced by both stewards of native rangelands, cultivated pastures, and dryland hay acreage in the western and eastern United States. Range and pasture are uniquely different "crops" when compared to other agricultural commodities. Pasture is less unique because this grazing resource is subject to more direct producer input regarding species diversity, or lack thereof, in planting. Native range is more unique because the forage base is determined by geological, climatic, and physical factors that have caused the evolution of the resource over time. Producers have limited or no direct input regarding species composition in range, but certainly impact composition indirectly with management decisions concerning grazing or haying. Producers who rely on grazing and haying resources are the target of the PF&R Revenue Insurance Program. The principal forage sources used as feed for livestock operations are native rangeland, pastureland, and hay. Producers who utilize these sources will now have the ability to shift financial risk and be able to rely on a more constant set of operational circumstances year to year. |
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