Pasture, Rangeland, Forage
UPDATED October 14, 2022

Yes, which index intervals you insure and how much you insure for each interval is important. It is important to review the historical indices tools for your grid along with past production records to determine if these programs work for your operation and to assess which index intervals correlate well to your production. For example, a producer has an operation in Virginia and has cool season grasses. July and August are normally extremely dry months when the vegetation normally becomes dormant (turns brown). Since July and August are normally dry, this may not be a good period to insure. This Virginia producer may be better served by insuring months earlier in the spring that are important for cool season forage growth and months in the fall that would establish his cool season grasses for fall grazing.

RMA strongly encourages you to use our decision support tools to help you make the right decision for your insurance needs. Selecting index intervals is a critical component of these policies and the result of your selections will directly correspond to your satisfaction with the product. 

Yes, the intent of the PRF policy is that you own or have an insurable interest in the livestock. In addition, the person with the insurable interest when the crop is grazed is based on the livestock and not the land. If requested, you will be required to provide records that show you have grazed livestock and that you have an insurable interest in the livestock. The type of records to support your interest in livestock inventory include, but are not limited to any one of the following: 

• Livestock inventories from within the state;
• Sales documents of offspring (can be used to verify on farm livestock inventory);
• Documentation confirming you have purchased/owned/bred/raised livestock in the state;
• Documentation of livestock taken in on the gain or for a fee;
• Documentation that confirms you hauled livestock (in which you have an interest) into the state to graze; or
• If natural causes require you to destock your livestock, records demonstrating disposition are acceptable. 

These records must be maintained for period of three years after the crop year.

An FSA-578 is NOT acceptable documentation by itself for determining shares. FSA programs and PRF have different rules/criteria for determining who has a share in a crop, and therefore, may not be appropriate for PRF. The FSA-578 may be used in support of or in conjunction with other documentation for determining shares but cannot be used as the only documentation for determining shares.

The following are examples from the Rainfall Index Handbook Exhibit 6 E showing the use of a FSA-578 in conjunction with a lease, grazing permit, or ownership records to determine insurable acreage; however, upon request livestock records may also need to be provided for the intended use of grazing:

Example 1:
Lessee K leases land from the BLM. Lessee K reports the lease to FSA and obtains an FSA-578. Lessee K provides the FSA-578 and BLM master allotment report. The FSA-578 provides the location of the land and reports the producer has 100% share of 50,000 acres. The BLM master allotment report clarifies that the producer only has access to 100 animal unit month (AUM) within the allotment along with four other producers. The total AUMs permitted on the BLM allotment is 400. In this case the producer has 25% share in 50,000 acres rather. 

Example 2:
Lessee M leases land from the BLM. Lessee M reports the lease to FSA and obtains an FSA-578. Lessee M provides the FSA-578 and BLM master allotment report. The FSA-578 provides the location of the land and reports the producer has 100% share of 10,000 acres. The BLM master allotment report indicates that the total acres within the allotment are 10,000 acres, but 2,000 of those acres are private land within the boundaries of the allotment. The total insurable acreage Lessor M can insure based on this information is 8,000 acres, unless Lessor M provides a record showing ownership or lease of the 2,000 private acres.

Example 3:
Landowner X has 200 acres of grazing land that are used for grazing cattle and are reported to FSA as grazing. Landowner X is requested to provide records of livestock ownership and the acreage. To meet the request, Landowner X provides sales records of cattle, an FSA-578, and tax records from the previous year to show ownership of the acreage.

Example 4:
Lessee Y leases 100 grazing acres from Lessor Z. Lessee Y reports the lease to FSA and obtains an FSA-578. Lessee Y is requested to provide records of livestock ownership and a lease for the acreage. To meet the request, Lessee Y provides sales records of cattle, an FSA-578, and the lease certification form. The FSA-578 acreage matches the acreage certified on the verified lease certification form and the livestock records support the insurable interest.