Risk Management Agency Interpretation of FCIC Provisions:

Subject: Request dated July 15, 2020, to the Risk Management Agency for an interpretation 

regarding whether section 3(a)(4) or 3(e) of the 2017 Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) Pilot 

Policy and subparagraph 21(1)(d) of the 2017 WFRP Pilot Handbook allows a partner who files taxes 

on a fractional share of farming activity conducted by the partnership may insure that fractional share 

under a WFRP policy if the partner is an originating pass-through entity for its share of the 

commodities produced through the partnership. 

The relevant policy provision provided by the requestor is section 3(a)(4): 

3. Eligibility

(a) To be considered a qualifying person, you must:

...

(4) The Schedule F, or Substitute Schedule F, must cover 100 percent of your

farm operation. (A tax entity which reports a fractional share of farming

activity conducted by a partnership, corporation or any other “joint

venture” does not qualify for WFRP coverage on the fractional share of

farming activity); ...

(e) Originating pass-through entities may insure the allowable revenue from commodities

produced by the farm operation under WFRP. Owners of a pass-through entity that are

not the originating entity may not insure pass-through revenue or loss under WFRP.

The relevant handbook procedure provided by the requestor is subparagraph 21(1)(d): 

21. Eligibility

(1) To be considered eligible for a WFRP policy, the insured must:

...

(d) have a Schedule F, or Substitute Schedule F that covers 100 percent of

their farm operation. A tax entity which reports a fractional share of

farming activity conducted by a partnership, corporation or any other

“joint venture” does not qualify for WFRP coverage on the fractional

share of farming activity. However, a tax entity may still qualify for

WFRP coverage on a fractional share of a commodity in which they have

an insurable interest.

Interpretation Submitted by Requestor(s)

The requestors’ interpretation is that section 3(a) of the 2017 WFRP Pilot Policy sets forth several 

criteria that must be satisfied in order to be considered a “qualifying person.” If one or more of these 

criteria are not met, an entity is not eligible for WFRP coverage. Whether the partner pays its taxes 

directly or is a pass-through entity is of no significance to the “fractional share” restriction set forth in 

section 3(a)(4). 

As clearly set forth in the policy and handbook, section 3(e) establishes an additional condition of 

insurability for pass-through entities. This provision is in addition to, and not a replacement for, the 

“qualifying person” criteria in section 3(a). The prefatory language in section 3(a) indicates that, “[t]o 

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be considered a qualifying person, you must” meet the criteria set forth under subparagraphs (1) 

through (6). As such, any entity that fails to meet all the criteria under section 3(a) is not a qualifying 

person and is ineligible for WFRP coverage. That is, even if an entity meets the pass-through 

insurability requirement of section 3(e), it must also meet the qualifying person criteria in section 3(a) 

in order to be eligible for WFRP coverage. 

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Determination 

FCIC agrees with the requestors’ interpretation that section 3(e) does not supersede any requirement 

within section 3(a); specifically, 3(a)(4) of the 2017 WFRP Pilot Policy states that a partner who files 

taxes on a fractional share of farming activity conducted by the partnership cannot insure that 

fractional share, even if the partner is an originating entity for its share of the commodities produced 

through the partnership. Subparagraph 21(1)(d) of the 2017 WFRP Pilot Handbook clarifies section 

3(e) of the policy while providing guidance of when a fractional share of a commodity may be eligible 

for coverage. 

In accordance with section 33(a)(1) of the WFRP Pilot Policy, this FCIC interpretation is generally 

applicable and binding in any mediation or arbitration. In accordance with section 33(a)(1), any 

appeal of this interpretation must be in accordance with 7 C.F.R. part 11. 

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