VALDOSTA, Ga., Sept. 21, 2023 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is updating the Florida Citrus Fruit Actual Production History (APH) crop insurance program for the 2025 and succeeding crop years. These changes, implemented by the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), will help ensure the program remains a viable risk management tool for citrus producers.

“The Florida Citrus Fruit program provides an actual production history (APH) coverage policy that protects growers from yield losses due to excess wind, drought, freeze, hail, hurricane, tornado, fire, certain diseases, and post bloom fruit drop,” said Davina Lee, RMA Valdosta Regional Office Director. “These changes will enhance the effectiveness of the program, ensuring that our producers are getting an improved level of service through the program.”

The changes will:

• Revise the insurability requirements to produce a 100-box minimum in at least one of the three previous years for eight years and older trees unless allowed by a determined yield. This revision aims to enhance insurability for the producer by coverage to multiple weather events over a three-year insured period instead of two.
• Modify the named perils section under the causes of loss. Replace the term “Adverse Weather” with named individual perils and further define “excess wind.”
• Require the insured to provide a notice within 30 days if the insured acreage is damaged by post-bloom fruit drop.
• Minor modifications to price calculations for specialty citrus due to the loss of data relied upon from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and juice type oranges to include an additional dataset from the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC).

The sales closing date for the 2025 crop year is November 1, 2023.

More Information

Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers and online at the RMA Agent Locator. Learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov or by contacting your RMA Regional Office.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.

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