A Report from the

Risk Management Agency, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

regarding:

The Department of Agriculture’s Annual Report to the 

Committee on Agriculture of the U.S. House of Representatives 

and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry of the 

U.S. Senate Regarding the Progress Made in Developing and 

Improving Federal Crop Insurance for Organic Crops

May 2022
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Introduction

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) provides this report, pursuant to Section 508(c)(6)(D) of 

the Federal Crop Insurance Act, as amended by Section 11023 of the Agricultural Act of 2014: 

The Corporation shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 

Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate 

an annual report on progress made in developing and improving Federal crop insurance 

for organic crops, including:

i. the numbers and varieties of organic crops insured; 

ii. the progress of implementing the price elections required under this 

subparagraph, including the rate at which additional price elections are adopted 

for organic crops; 

iii. the development of new insurance approaches relevant to organic producers; and 

iv. any recommendations the Corporation considers appropriate to improve Federal 

crop insurance coverage for organic crops.

This report provides: 1) information on the availability of organic price elections for the 2022 

crop year; 2) our ongoing efforts to obtain additional data and information to aid future 

development of price elections for crops for which we do not yet offer organic price elections1; 

and 3) a summary of our progress in establishing organic price elections and alternative options 

for organic coverage. This is the ninth annual report to Congress on the progress of 

implementing organic price elections. 

Progress in Implementing Organic Price Elections

For the 2022 crop year, RMA will offer 84 distinct organic price elections; only 19 crops do not 

currently receive an organic price election2. These crops do not currently have an organic price 

1

‘Organic price election’ refers to organic crops that receive a price election that is greater than the conventional 

price election. Organic crops that do not receive an organic price election are still insurable at conventional price 

election values, even if a premium price above that of the conventional practice is not available. 

2 Based on the distinct number of crops listed in RMA’s online Actuarial Information Browser. Crops insured with 

the Actual Revenue History plan of insurance, Whole Farm Revenue Protection, nursery, clams, livestock policies, 

privately developed 508(h) submissions (other than caneberries, the cottonseed endorsement, and hemp), and crop 

policies that require a contract to determine a price are not considered. For those commodities identified as having 

an organic price, it does not mean RMA offers an organic price for all types and locations. 

Regarding privately developed submission, section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act allows private parties 

to develop insurance products (commonly referred to as 508(h) Submissions), including: crop insurance policies,

provisions of policies, or rates of premium. The 508(h) Submissions are exempt from Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation requirements limiting coverage levels, rates, and prices under Section 508(h)(2). RMA does not have 

the regulatory authority to require the owners of these products to create organic price elections for their 

submissions. Therefore, crops and/or crop types insured under 508(h) submissions are considered exempt from 

RMA’s organic price election requirements.
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election because either: a) there is no known organic production in insured areas; b) there is 

limited production and no available data that meets RMA’s data quality requirements; or c) 

pricing data suggests these organic crops do not receive a premium over conventional products. 

Crops that do not have an organic price election are: alfalfa seed, all other citrus trees, canola, 

carambola trees, chile peppers, cigar filler tobacco, cigar wrapper tobacco, fire cured tobacco, 

forage seeding, lemon trees, lime trees, limes, macadamia trees, mango trees, peppers, 

processing apricots, processing freestone peaches, sugar beets, and tangors. 

RMA’s previous reports have stressed the importance of RMA’s data quality requirements to 

develop organic price elections, as well as existing data sources used by RMA. The lack of 

quality data continues to be the single most significant constraint to offering additional organic 

price elections. 

Cooperative Efforts with Other USDA Agencies to Obtain Data

National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has completed six organic surveys (2008, 2011, 

2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019). RMA has provided funding for three of the six surveys. RMA has 

worked with NASS to improve survey methods and expand data collection to include specific 

crop types and varieties not listed in previous surveys. RMA has also paid for an organic survey 

being conducted by NASS for the 2021 crop year, with results expected to be delivered late in 

2022. This will be the fourth survey funded by RMA. With this fourth survey, RMA has

provided NASS a total of $6 million for these surveys. These surveys provide comprehensive 

organic information and will assist RMA in setting accurate organic price elections.

Additional Crop Insurance Options for Organic Producers

Contract price option offered under the Contract Price Addendum

The contract price option was offered beginning with the 2014 crop year and allows organic 

producers and those transitioning to organic practices who receive a contract price for their crop 

to get a crop insurance guarantee that is more reflective of the actual value of their crop. The 

contract price option is available for most crops and allows producers to use their personal 

contract price as their price election or choose existing crop insurance price elections.

Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP)

The Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) plan of insurance provides a risk management 

safety net for all commodities produced on the farm under one insurance policy. This insurance 

plan is tailored for any farm with up to $8.5 million in insured revenue, including farms with 

specialty or organic commodities (both crops and livestock), and those marketing to local, 

regional, farm-identity preserved, specialty, or direct markets. All certified organic commodities 

may be insured at their farm-level organic prices provided the farm meets eligibility 

requirements. 
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New Policy Development

In 2020, RMA finalized development of and implemented a new plan of insurance, Production 

and Revenue History (PRH), which is designed to better handle commodities with less data, 

including organic agriculture. PRH uses the producer’s personal production and revenue history 

to establish a yield-based guarantee valued at what the producer has historically been able to 

obtain for their production. In so doing, PRH overcomes the lack of price data that hinders 

RMA’s ability to improve and expand organic price elections.

RMA initiated PRH for strawberries in Florida for the 2021 crop year and in California for the 

2022 crop year. RMA has recently awarded a contract to develop PRH policies for fresh market 

sweet corn, fresh market tomatoes, and peppers; PRH may be available for these crops as soon as 

the 2024 crop year. Peppers is a crop for which RMA does not yet have an organic price election. 

The current insurance plan for peppers requires cost of production information to operate, and no 

organic cost of production information in the locations peppers are currently insured is available. 

The availability of PRH will generate organic coverage for peppers. There has been great interest

in PRH for other crops, and these are under consideration for future development. 

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) directed RMA to carry out research 

and development of a policy to insure production of local foods. In June 2020, RMA contracted 

with a third party to assess the feasibility of insuring local food production. The conclusion and 

primary recommendation provided from the third party was that modifying the WFRP plan of 

insurance was the simplest and quickest way to improve access to coverage for local food 

producers. In response, RMA developed and implemented the Micro Farm Provisions as part of 

the WFRP plan of insurance for the 2022 policy year.

The Micro Farm Provisions is designed for small, diverse farms that sell locally, with up to 

$100,000 in approved revenue. The policy simplifies recordkeeping and covers post-production 

costs like washing and value-added products; this was a key request from stakeholders to make 

crop insurance more useful to smaller growers.

Outreach and Education

Throughout the year, RMA staff engaged in public outreach to educate and interact with

producers about organic crop insurance options and to gather feedback about existing programs. 

In 2021, RMA attended industry conferences and grower meetings, presenting information about 

organic coverage and WFRP, including Micro Farm. 

Conferences and presentations include: Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Convention;

Iowa State University Extension webinar on risk management for specialty crop producers;

Ecological Farming Association’s EcoFarm Conference; a presentation to a class at Washington 

State University’s Viticulture and Enology program; Midwest Organic and Sustainable 

Education Service (MOSES) Conference; a presentation on crop insurance to a Washington State 

University extension class for new and beginning farmers and ranchers; a presentation at a Team 
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Agriculture Georgia (TAG) meeting on contract pricing of organic row crops; South Carolina 

Beginning Farmer Rancher webinar presentation on WFRP; National Aquaculture Association

meeting; California Beginning Farmer and Rancher webinar highlighting the Organic Farming 

Research Foundation; an interview for an Iowa State University podcast about RMA and WFRP;

a question and answer seminar hosted by the University of Hawaii, covering new and beginning 

farmer and WFRP; Intertribal Agriculture Council presentation including WFRP; Kentucky 

Horticulture Council webinar covering WFRP, Micro Farm, and organic crop programs 

available; and Minnesota Department of Agriculture presentation on WFRP.

In addition, numerous phone calls and meetings that discussed organic coverage and WFRP, 

including Micro Farm, were held with various members of the crop insurance industry, as well as 

various producer groups.

Flexibilities Due to COVID-19

COVID-19 created hardships for producers seeking crop insurance by impacting their ability to 

meet with their crop insurance agent to report mandatory records, submit applications, collect 

signatures, and more. In response to this, RMA provided flexibilities to producers and Approved 

Insurance Providers (AIPs) to allow them to complete these tasks while supporting their health 

and safety. 

Crop insurance policy requires producers with certified organic acreage, or acreage in transition 

to organic, to have written certification or written documentation from a certifying agent 

showing an organic plan is in effect for the acreage by the acreage reporting date. A certificate 

and plan must be in place each year to qualify for organic or organic transitional practices. In 

addition to flexibilities granted to all crop insurance participants, for organic producers 

specifically, RMA granted the ability to report acreage as certified organic, or as acreage in 

transition to organic, when they certify they have requested a written certification or other 

written documentation from a certifying agent on or before the acreage reporting date. RMA 

made this change permanent, recognizing that it is helpful for both organic producers and 

certifying agencies because organic certification does not necessarily happen in unison with crop 

insurance dates and cycles. 

Conclusion

RMA’s efforts to increase organic price election offering has resulted in tremendous growth in 

organic crop insurance participation. Since 2013, the number of organic and transitional acres 

insured increased 260 percent while liability increased 427 percent (see chart below). 
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Creating and maintaining organic price elections is dependent upon data availability. Organic 

price data that meets RMA standards for these crops is scarce, and data that meets the 

requirements for actuarial soundness and good insurance principles is necessary before organic 

prices can be added for additional crops. Availability of such data has generally not increased 

over the past decade. As such, RMA has taken proactive steps to create an insurance policy, 

PRH, that generates prices for insurance offers using producers’ own revenue history, thereby 

ensuring accurate organic price coverage. RMA also funded another organic survey being 

conducted by NASS for the 2021 crop year with results expected to be delivered late in 2022.

RMA continues efforts to locate and analyze new sources of data. Every crop is evaluated 

annually to determine if there are new or updated sources of organic information sufficient to 

develop or enhance organic price elections. RMA will continue to pursue opportunities for the 

acquisition of additional organic price data and information, given funding availability. 

Whenever possible, RMA will continue to improve the farm safety net by adding additional 

organic price elections. 

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

RMA Organic (Certified and Transitional) 

Insurance Growth

Acreage (1,000) Liability ($M)