United States 

Department of 

Agriculture 

Program Aid 

Number 1896 

A Risk Management Agency Fact Sheet 

Pasture, Rangeland, Forage 

Pilot Insurance Program 

November 2010 

The Risk Management Agency has modified the 

Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Pilot Insurance 

Program, which uses two separate Basic 

Provisions; the Rainfall Index Basic Provisions 

and the Vegetation Index Basic Provisions. Basic 

provisions are the terms and conditions included 

in all policies under these plans. These innovative 

pilot programs are based on vegetation greenness 

and rainfall indices, and are designed to give 

forage and livestock producers the ability to buy 

insurance protection for losses of forage produced 

for grazing or harvested for hay. 

The original Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Program 

was designed as a risk management tool for the 

588 million acres of pastureland and the 61.5 

million acres of hayland in the United States. In 

2007, Pasture, Rangeland, Forage insurance was 

available for testing in selected States. The 

program has been expanded and revised for the 

2009 crop year. The Risk Management Agency 

has replaced its Group Risk Plan Basic Provisions 

with the Rainfall Index and Vegetation Index 

Basic Provisions. The new basic provisions will 

be applied to all Pasture, Rangeland, Forage crop 

policies. 

The Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Pilot Insurance 

Programs are only available in selected States and 

counties. To test each index in various climates, 

soils, and weather conditions, these pilot 

programs are available in six regions across the 

country: the warm and humid Southeast, the cool 

and humid Northeast, the Northern Great Plains, 

the Southern Great Plains, the semi-arid 

Southwest, and the intermountain region of the 

Northwest. You can see the States and counties 

where the Rainfall Index and the Vegetation Index 

pilot programs are available at: http:// 

www.rma.usda.gov/policies/ 

pasturerangeforage/2011availabilitymap.pdf 

The Rainfall Index uses National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction 

Center (NOAA CPC) data and each grid is 0.25 

degrees in latitude by 0.25 degrees in longitude. 

You must select at least two, 2-month time 

periods where rain is important to your operation 

in your area. These time periods are called index 

intervals. Your insurance payments will be 

calculated using NOAA CPC data for the grid(s) 

and index interval(s) you have chosen to insure. 

When the final grid index falls below your 

“trigger grid index” (coverage level multiplied by 

the expected grid index), you may receive a loss 

payment. This insurance coverage is for a single 

peril—lack of rain. Coverage is based on the 

experience of the entire grid. It is NOT based 

on individual farms or ranches or specific 

weather stations in the general area. (You can 

find more detailed information at the NOAA Web 

site: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/ 

outreach/research_papers/ncep_cpc_atlas/7/ 

toc.html) 

The Vegetation Index uses data from the U.S. 

Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation 

and Science data center called the Normalized 

Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The NDVI is 

a measure of vegetation greenness and is used to 

estimate plant condition in approximately 4.8 x 

4.8 mile grids. This index is not a direct measure 

of your production. It is a measure of all 

vegetation in a grid. In general, the healthier the 

plants in a given grid, the higher the NDVI value 

will be. With this insurance plan, you may select 

one or more 3-month time periods that represent 

your pasture, rangeland, or forage practices. These 

time periods are called index intervals. Coverage 

is based on losses within the 4.8 x 4.8 mile grid 

rather than on an individual producer’s losses. 

Losses for the Vegetation Index are paid based on 

the difference between the normal NDVI data 

(expected grid index) and the actual grid index 

experience during the index interval(s) you have 

chosen to insure. When the final grid index falls 

below your “trigger grid index” (coverage level 

times the expected grid index), you may receive a 

loss payment. 

The process of developing these products 

included determining the value of forage for 

Risk Management Agency Pasture, Rangeland, Forage/PA-1896 
 

 

 

 

 

 

grazing and haying for each county in the program. 

RMA and its partner used USDA Farm Service 

Agency Grassland Reserve Program prices for grazing 

land, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service 

State hayland rates, U.S. Geological Survey landcover estimates, and regional forage and hayland 

values determined by experts to establish a county 

base value for each location. 

While developing these new insurance products, the 

Risk Management Agency considered public land 

versus private land, warm- and cool-season plants, 

different grazing patterns, and various forage species 

representing a wide range of relative feed values. 

Pasture, Rangeland, Forage insurance was designed 

for maximum flexibility. You are not required to 

insure all your acres, but you cannot exceed the total 

number of grazing or haying acres you operate. This 

allows you to insure only those acres that are 

important to your grazing program or hay operation. 

By selecting a Protection Factor, you can establish a 

value between 60 and 150 percent of the County Base 

Value and match the amount of your protection to the 

value of forage that best represents your specific 

grazing or hay operation, as well as the productivity of 

your land. 

You will be asked to make several choices when 

insuring your grazing or hay production, including 

coverage level, index intervals, protection factor, and 

number of acres. You should work with your crop 

insurance agent to view the Grid ID Locator map and 

index grids for your area, and assign acreage to one or 

more grids based on the location and use of the 

acreage to be insured. The Vegetation and Rainfall 

indices do not measure your direct production or 

loss. You are insuring a rainfall or vegetation index 

that is expected to estimate your production. Please 

review the historical indices for your area to make 

sure that this product will be helpful to you. 

The Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Rainfall Index and 

Vegetation Index pilot programs are being tested in 

select counties and States. You can view a map and a 

list of the counties and States where each index is 

available at: http://www.rma.usda.gov/policies/ 

pasturerangeforage. 

Please visit your crop insurance agent for more 

information. If you do not have an agent, you can find 

one online using the RMA agent locator at: http:// 

www.rma.usda.gov/tools/agent.html or at any USDA 

Service Center. 

Contact Us 

USDA/RMA 

Mail Stop 0801 

1400 Independence Ave., SW 

Washington, DC 20250-0801 

Web site: http://www.rma.usda.gov 

E-mail: rma.cco@rma.usda.gov 

Download Copies from the Web 

Visit our online publications/fact sheets page at: 

http://www.rma.usda.gov/pubs/rme/fctsht.html 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, 

national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital 

status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, 

genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a 

part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) 

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, 

etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 

(voice and TDD). 

To file a complaint of discrimination write to: USDA, Director, 

Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 

720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and 

employer. 

Risk Management Agency Pasture, Rangeland, Forage/PA-1896