2016 Crop Insurance in Targeted States Program
Alaska
Recipient: AgriLogic Consulting, LLC
Project: Crop Insurance Programs for Alaskan Agricultural Producers - Setting the Stage for Long Term Sustainability
Project Description: The recipient will partner with several local groups to deliver risk management education to Alaska producers, with primary focus being on those agricultural areas in and around Anchorage, Fairbanks, and the Kenai Peninsula (especially the Matanuska-Susitna Valley), with webinar and recorded training opportunities available for producers located in the Aleutian Islands and Juneau/Ketchikan. Target audience includes all Alaska producers with a special emphasis on limited resource, immigrant (Hmong), Native Alaskan farmers, and those located in Strikeforce Communities. Training will be delivered through live producer workshops, producer webinars, on-farm appointments, and three conferences. Local technical resources will be trained via Train-the Trainer webinars. An Alaska crop insurance website will be created and promoted. USB drives will be pre-loaded with all resources and training and distributed to remote producers. Crop insurance factsheets will be translated into Hmong and Hmong-translated workshops will be offered. Topics to be covered include crop insurance programs, NAP, the and importance of keeping good records and filing farm taxes, as they relate to WFRP. Premium quotes, eligibility requirements, sales closing dates, and agent contact information will be provided. The project objective is a better understanding of and greater participation in crop insurance and other USDA programs overall.
Award Amount: $202,000
Award Type: TS
State: Alaska
Connecticut
Project: Crop Insurance and Risk Management Promotion, Education and Training for Connecticut Farmers and Growers
Project Description: The recipient will promote crop insurance products to Connecticut farmers and growers. The use of crop insurance to manage risk, an understanding of how using crop insurance can affect other farm risk management decisions, and sales closing date information will be emphasized in educational and training programs. Crop insurance provisions in the current Farm Bill including whole farm revenue protection will be highlighted. Farmer actions resulting from project programs will be identified using evaluation tools. Targeted groups include established farmers, beginning farmers, women, veterans, minority producers, legal immigrants, socially disadvantaged farmers, retiring farmers using transition strategies to help new farmers get started and new or established farmers converting production and marketing systems to pursue new markets. Communications to over 6,000 farmers, growers, and advisers will provide details on crop insurance, programs and events, and other risk management topics. The Connecticut Farm Risk Management and Crop Insurance website and our partnering organizations' websites will also provide information on crop insurance and programs. Extension programs and events sponsored by our partnering organizations will play important roles in reaching and educating farmers and growers.
Award Amount: $221,000
Award Type: TS
State: Connecticut
Delaware
Recipient: University of Delaware
Project: Crop Insurance and Risk Management Education to Delaware's Diverse Agricultural Community
Project Description: The recipient will collaborate with stakeholders to deliver crop insurance and risk management education to Delaware producers through an essential in-state network. Program changes resulting from the 2014 Farm Bill make the success of farm operations increasingly dependent on their risk management decisions. Emerging tools such as Whole Farm Revenue Coverage, as well as enhancements to more established crop insurance tools, will be highlighted in this project. Programs will be delivered through a variety of mediums, including presentations to small and large audiences, hands-on activities, individual/family consultations, social media and written materials. The recipient will make comprehensive crop insurance education available and understandable for the diverse spectrum of Delaware producers. The project will reach out to over young, beginning, women, socially disadvantaged, specialty crop and organic/sustainable producers, as well as conventional row crop operations of all sizes. As a result of participating in this project, producers will be able to make informed decisions about a range of crop insurance and revenue coverage options, by sales closing deadlines, to best manage their production, price, and revenue risk.
Award Amount: $246,298
Award Type: TS
State: Delaware
Hawaii
Project: Hawaii Targeted States Program - Converting Awareness to Action
Project Description: The recipient will educate producers of priority agricultural commodities in all Hawaii counties about risk management and related strategies. The target audience includes socially disadvantaged, beginning, immigrant, and limited resource farmers as well as operators of specialty, organic, and nursery operations. Additionally this year, the recipient will implement several new and innovative ways of reaching farmers including farmer testimonial videos, two Farmer Expos, and a recorded Thai-translated version of the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) and Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) training modules. Training topics include general insurance principals, the importance of record keeping (including QuickBooks classes), the NAP program for those not yet eligible for WFRP, and an overview of all RMA and other Federal, state and local government programs available to assist Hawaii producers to become or remain profitable. Eligibility requirements, sales closing dates, agent contact information, and premium quotes will be provided.
Award Amount: $225,000
Award Type: TS
State: Hawaii
Maine
Project: Crop Insurance Education for Maine
Project Description: The recipient is uniquely positioned to deliver a broad outreach program of crop insurance education to Maine farmers by utilizing their strong internal network and relationships with state commodity associations to give crop insurance and risk management a prominent place on conference agendas, in farm publications, and online. The recipient's reach will target the following producers: diversified crop and beginning farmers, respectively. We will partner with the Maine Vegetable and Small Fruit Growers Association and the Beginning Farmer Resource Network of Maine to tailor risk management and business planning education to meet those farmers' needs. Specifically, the recipient will provide crop insurance education to farmers at commodity meetings and workshops, through webinars, Extension newsletters, our Maine crop insurance education website, and on existing, commodity-based websites. Outreach will keep farmers abreast of available policies, updates and deadlines, required records, and connect farmers to resources at regional and national USDA-RMA levels. As a result of this project farmers' knowledge of risk management programs and their likelihood of enrolling will increase.
Award Amount: $204,580
Award Type: TS
State: Maine
Maryland
Project: Maryland Crop Insurance Education and Promotion
Project Description: The recipient will team with its partners to provide timely, relevant crop insurance information to Maryland farmers in this Targeted States project. This Targeted States program is a priority as it serves to prepare the state's farmers with risk management education and tools to be prepared for natural disasters. The recipient and their partners will bring their 13 years of experience in crop insurance promotion and education to work with the state's 12,526 farming operations. Tools in this project will include direct mailed newsletters and calendars, as well as presentations to farmers, web-based education and social media. Reflecting the emphasis created in the Agricultural Act of 2014, Maryland's experienced team will target beginning farmers, immigrant farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, farmers preparing to retire and new and established farmers who are converting production and marketing systems to pursue new markets.
Award Amount: $285,000
Award Type: TS
State: Maryland
Massachusetts
Project: Comprehensive Crop Insurance/Risk Management Education Program
Project Description: The recipient will develop and deliver a comprehensive crop insurance/risk management education program for all agricultural producers in Massachusetts. The program will additionally target beginning, legal immigrant, organic and socially disadvantaged producers; groups historically identified as having limited or no knowledge of Federal Crop Insurance programs. The educational program will be delivered through several avenues including but not limited to: workshops and field days conducted by staff; field days and meetings in cooperation with partner organizations; exhibiting at agricultural trade shows and other agricultural events; disseminating information through Extension and cooperating partner organizations; direct electronic mailings to producers and to partner organizations for distribution to their members; a webpage devoted to crop insurance and risk management within the Extension's web network; a Facebook Page; and, finally the opportunity for producers to have "one-on-one" sessions to individually discuss their specific needs in a private, comfortable, non-pressured and unbiased setting. The risks, challenges, diversification and uniqueness of Massachusetts' agriculture separates farming in Massachusetts from other parts of the country. The recipient will utilize it's considerable resources to develop a program that understands these unique nuances and deliver a program that will benefit all agricultural producers in Massachusetts.
Award Amount: $217,995
Award Type: TS
State: Massachusetts
Nevada
Recipient: University of Nevada, Reno
Project: Nevada Risk Management Targeted States Crop and Livestock Education Project
Project Description: The recipient will help producers understand existing and emerging federal crop/livestock and revenue insurance programs in Nevada, which is a StrikeForce state. This statewide project consists of the following programming: American Indian crop/livestock insurance program and how to use crop insurance to manage risk; farm financial benchmarking to improve enterprise performance incorporating farm record keeping and planning; climate education on vegetation index and drought monitor to make informed decisions on crop insurance prior to sales closing dates; high school and agriculture in the classroom risk management education, to increase knowledge of risks addressed by crop insurance; and agricultural market outlook featuring whole farm revenue protection and supplemental coverage option including a podcast for dairies and livestock gross margin dairy program. Specific holistic agricultural risk management scenarios will be created utilizing insurance products under each of the programs. The team will work with RMA and insurance agents to create scenarios, advertise, and provide outreach on sales closing dates.
Award Amount: $228,000
Award Type: TS
State: Nevada
New Hampshire
Project: Crop Insurance and Risk Management Education for New Hampshire Farmers
Project Description: The recipient will reach NH farmers through educational events which will address strategies and techniques for managing production, marketing, financial and human resource risks. These events will incorporate efforts to help farmers understand the kinds of risks addressed by crop insurance, features of existing and emerging crop insurance policies, use of crop insurance to manage risks, effects crop insurance coverage may have on other management decisions, and importance of making informed decisions about crop insurance prior to sales closing dates. Educational events will include 14 whole and half-day workshops and conferences, 4 multi-day intensive training sessions, 6 seminars, and one webinar with multiple sites. Programs offered will cover the diverse enterprises and markets found in NH with emphasis on beginning farmers, women operators, and farmers converting production and marketing systems to reach new markets. Intensive training efforts will also be directed toward immigrant farmers. In addition through promotional efforts, a much larger audience of farmers will learn about the features, kinds of risks covered, and closing dates of crop insurance policies. Promotional efforts planned include radio broadcasts, websites, news releases, digital marketing, and personal E-mails.
Award Amount: $196,473
Award Type: TS
State: New Hampshire
New Jersey
Project: Crop Insurance Education for New Jersey Farmers
Project Description: The recipient will develop and implement a comprehensive crop insurance education program that ensures all types of farmers throughout New Jersey are well informed so they can take advantage of existing and emerging crop insurance products. Experienced educators will help producers understand: the kinds of risks addressed by crop insurance and how to manage those risks; features of existing and emerging crop insurance products including Whole-Farm Revenue Protection and Supplemental Coverage Option; farm record keeping and planning; and how to make informed decisions on crop insurance prior to the sales closing date deadline. Risk management education and outreach to farmers will focus on all traditional, new/beginning, women, socially disadvantaged, veterans, livestock, organic, operations in transition of changing farming practices as well as producers of products marketed as part of a local and regional food system. Delivery of multi-media information on crop insurance will have an impact of reaching producers.
Award Amount: $238,000
Award Type: TS
State: New Jersey
New York
Project: New York Crop Insurance and Risk Management Education Project
Project Description: The recipient will provide New York farmers with compelling, clear, and accurate information on crop insurance through web-based decision-support tools, advertisements, mailings, articles, trade shows, and face-to-face meetings. Online-based decision-support tools will build on successful approaches in other states that currently do not provide coverage for New York. Educational materials and outreach activities will target many types of underserved farmers, including women, veteran, and young and beginning farmers. Most media and outreach activities are scheduled to maximize exposure to crop insurance information in advance of the March 15 deadline; afterwards we will continue to develop and refine materials and online presence, providing continuing information during the year. The recipient will reach more producers with targeted ads in a variety of outlets and producers via 13 major tradeshows. The recipient will reach producers at 56 scheduled extension meetings and other activities with our partners.
Award Amount: $401,000
Award Type: TS
State: New York
Pennsylvania
Project: Crop Insurance Education Program
Project Description: The recipient will help producers better understand and utilize the many risk management options available. This will be accomplished working collaboratively to build new partnerships and grow the success of existing partners providing crop insurance education, training presentations, magazine advertisements, press releases, social media, newsletters, direct mail, sector-specific brochures and web-based resources. The recipient is continuing to make education materials more accessible for producers and also for a more diverse audience, by expanding our social media reach via Facebook and YouTube, and continuing our relationship with partners such as the Women's Agricultural Network. The planned live presentations this year will provide almost 9,000 hours of face-to-face education for producers. Printed and online materials will be delivered to over 2 million contacts with producers and agricultural professionals. Pennsylvania agriculture is highly diverse and risk management education is a top initiative of the Department. The recipient is uniquely suited to educate the industry through existing positive relationships with agricultural organizations, such as Penn State, and the agricultural community as a whole.
Award Amount: $475,000
Award Type: TS
State: Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Project: Risk Management and Crop Insurance Education for Rhode Island Growers
Project Description: The recipient will use extension meetings, RMA fact sheet e-mailings, newsletters, websites, and one-on-one meetings to make sure Rhode Island growers are fully informed regarding risk management tools and crop insurance products. We will emphasize Whole-Farm Revenue Protection and farm business benchmarking. Partners will integrate information on crop insurance opportunities for each of the commodity groups at meetings, as well as produce 6 newsletters which will focus on how crop insurance can affect other types of risk (e. g. production, marketing, finance, human resources, or legal) and will highlight farm business benchmarking in one newsletter. Additionally, the recipient will include write-ups of upcoming and recent crop insurance meetings, sales closing dates, insurance providers, and contacts for additional information in these newsletters. Partners will also introduce risk management and crop insurance to beginning producers. We will offer educational meetings that have been well attended in the past which have included some aspect of crop production (pruning, cover crops, organic growing) or integrated pest management, with pesticide recertification credits offered where appropriate.
Award Amount: $202,000
Award Type: TS
State: Rhode Island
Utah
Project: Risk Management and Crop Insurance Program Training and Promotion for Utah Agricultural Producers
Project Description: The recipient will work with RMA and seven partner organizations to improve Utah producers' awareness, understanding, and utilization of risk management strategies and tools, including Federal crop insurance programs. The outreach will improve producers' awareness of available risk management strategies and tools, including Federal crop insurance programs such as RMA's Livestock Risk Protection (LRP), Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF), and Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) Programs. New for this year, the recipient will 1) aggressively pursue outreach through social media and 2) make a substantial amount of training content available in Spanish. Producers will also gain expertise in assessing and implementing relevant risk management strategies and tools, including Farm Financial Benchmarking concepts, leading to more effective utilization of Federal crop insurance programs that will improve the profitability of Utah agricultural operations.
Award Amount: $268,000
Award Type: TS
State: Utah
Vermont
Project: Crop Insurance and Risk Management Education for Vermont Farmers
Project Description: The recipient will conduct across Vermont 188 education events with an additional 200 farm visits and 23 articles that will reach 8689 producers. Topics covered will include use of crop insurance to reduce risk and address other risk reduction topics in production, financial, and marketing that covers dairy marketing to forage production to cover crops to reduce phosphorus losses to maple syrup production to using technology for fruit producers to proper practices for market vegetables to producing benchmarks to land access to intergenerational farm transition. Education venues include field demonstrations, workshops, farm viability consultations, pasture walks, and one-on-one technical assistance. The educational programs will focus on all identifiable produces from dairy farmers to immigrants to crop farmers to apple producers to vegetable farmers. Extra effort will be made to reach small scale, organic, and limited resource farmers to strengthen their sustainability from understanding risk reducing management practices. As a result, we expect farmers to become more knowledgeable about applicable production, financial, and marketing risk reducing practices, adapt to Vermont's Required Agricultural Practices through pollution reducing practices, and make greater use of crop insurance, whole farm revenue insurance, FSA's NAP program, and supplemental coverage.
Award Amount: $229,000
Award Type: TS
State: Vermont
West Virginia
Project: Risk Management Education for Farmers in the Targeted State of West Virginia
Project Description: The recipient will interact with farmers is through a combination of mass media and informal sessions attached to other meetings, but mostly through classes we have developed ourselves or in cooperation with our many collaborators to deliver nearly 32,000 hours of training. Thousands of those interactions will yield meaningful outcomes from those participating. Some of those surveyed will report that they are more aware or better informed about managing their risk, but many, many others will report they plan to take steps, or already have, toward improved record keeping, financial management, price protection and food safety. Many other producers will report that they are now in a working cooperative or in the planning stages to form a cooperative business to help them increase their profitability, market share, or sustainability. The recipient will deliver this body of work in over 65 different communities including 8 livestock markets, countless high school classrooms, the Charleston Civic Center, and many others.
Award Amount: $230,000
Award Type: TS
State: West Virginia
Wyoming
Recipient: University of Wyoming
Project: Risk Management Education Addressing Malt Barley Operators; Enterprise Risk Analysis; and Risk Management for Beginning, Retiring/Transitioning, and Other Farmers/Ranchers and Interested Individuals in Wyoming
Project Description: The recipient will ensure that farmers/ranchers in Wyoming are well-informed of risk management solutions to allow them to take full advantage of crop insurance and other risk controls. Educational outputs will be made available, but not limited to: 1) Livestock producers; 2) Beginning farmers/ranchers; 3) Producers converting production and marketing systems to pursue new markets; 4) Farmers/ranchers preparing to retire/transition; and 5) Traditional commercial producers. A multidimensional approach will be used to provide education under four broad objectives, including: OBJECTIVE 1: Develop new educational materials, specifically: a) A bulletin that provides Wyoming barley growers with information and practical examples of the use of RMA insurance products for feed barley and malting barley; and b) a module offering a continuous, online, blended learning experience covering risk management concepts and application to Enterprise Risk Analysis. OBJECTIVE 2: Offer onsite/online educational programs directly to managers of Wyoming farms and ranches through producer programs and risk management institutes. OBJECTIVE 3: Provide onsite/online educational programs to Wyoming’s small, beginning, and limited-resource farmers and ranchers. OBJECTIVE 4: Develop and offer media-based education on risk management alternatives and available crop insurance products state-wide via articles in agricultural and local newspapers and producer-organization newsletters.
Award Amount:$263,000
Award Type: TS
State: Wyoming