Keep Good Records...

Protect Your 

Crop Insurance 

Interests

United States Department of Agriculture

Risk Management Agency
The material in this brochure is for educational 

purposes only. It should not be used as a 

substitute or replacement for individual legal 

advice. Consult a crop insurance agent or an 

attorney for advice and further information 

regarding your specific situation.

We have made reasonable efforts to ensure 

the accuracy of the information in this 

brochure. However, we cannot predict the 

effect of future legislative, administrative, and 

judicial developments.
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Good records protect your 

crop insurance interests

Keeping records for your 

yield‐based crop insurance policy

Keeping detailed (accurate and certified) crop production reports and 

supporting records, which meet the standards required by your crop 

insurance policy, helps protect your farming interests.

If you have accurate production reports and supporting records, 

you pay only the premium needed and no more. If you maintain 

accurate production reports and supporting records, you may get 

an indemnity payment if you suffer a crop production loss that 

is covered in your policy. With accurate production reports and 

supporting records, the integrity of the whole crop insurance 

program is protected, which helps to keep your premiums down.

The following questions are only some of the many questions you 

may have about what kind of production records you need to be 

fully protected under your federally subsidized crop insurance 

program. If you need more details, or have other questions, contact 

your crop insurance agent. If you do not have a crop insurance 

agent, you can check the USDA Risk Management Agency’s “Agent 

Locator” link at: http://www.rma.usda.gov/tools/agent.html.

Some of the most frequently asked questions 

about record keeping are:

 1 What is a new insured?

A new insured is a person who did not have insurance on the crop 

the previous crop year. If you had a Multi-Peril Crop Insurance, 

Income Protection, Crop Revenue Coverage, Revenue Assurance, 

Group Risk Protection, Group Risk Income Protection, or other 

Federal crop insurance policy the previous crop year on the same 

crop in the same county, you are an existing policyholder.
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 2 If I’m a new insured, do I need to provide any production records 

to get insurance coverage? 

No. However, to maximize your crop insurance coverage, we 

strongly encourage you to submit production records.

 3 What production records should I provide?

If you provide or certify less than 4 crop years of actual 

production history records to establish your Actual Production 

History, your approved yield and your production guarantee 

will be based on a percentage of your county’s transitional yield 

(T-yield) and the production records you provided or certified. The 

T-yield percentage is determined by the number of years of actual/

assigned yields available for the crop in the county.

If you provide or certify 4 or more crop years (maximum of 

10 crop years) of actual production history, the production 

guarantee will be based on your actual yield.

 4 Can I get crop insurance if I have never grown the crop?

Yes. You may also qualify as a new producer. You are a new 

producer if you have not grown the crop or had a share of the 

insured crop in the 

county for more than 

2 crop years. In this 

case, your approved 

actual production 

history yield will be 

100 percent of the 

county T-yield.

 5 Do I have to insure 

all my planted acres 

of the same crop in 

a county?

Yes. Crop insurance 

coverage is determined 

on a crop/county 

basis unless the crop 

provisions indicate that 

certain practices, types, 

or varieties are separate, 

insurable crops.
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 6 Can I insure my dryland corners of a center pivot irrigation system 

(non-irrigated) without insuring my irrigated acreage?

No. Crop insurance is determined on a crop/county basis unless 

the individual crop provisions state otherwise. In general, all 

insurable acres in the county must be insured for one crop.

However, if you provide separate acreage and production records 

for the non-irrigated corner(s) of a center pivot irrigation system 

of a field planted to the insured crop and the portion of the field 

irrigated, the non-irrigated corners may qualify for a separate 

optional unit if there is a discernable boundary between the 

irrigated and non-irrigated acreage within the field.

 7 Can my total crop acres in a county be broken down into 

smaller insurable units? If so, do the units have to have the 

same level of coverage?

Yes. Cropland acres may be broken down into different insurable 

units and yes, the level of coverage must be the same unless the 

crop provisions state otherwise.

 8 What types of units are available for crop insurance?

There are generally four different types of units that policyholders 

may qualify for: basic, optional, enterprise, and whole farm:

• The basic unit includes all insurable acreage of the insured crop 

in the county in which the producer has a 100-percent share or 

which is owned by one entity and operated by another specific 

entity on a share basis. Basic units may be further divided into 

optional units.

 • Optional units are determined by section, section equivalents, 

USDA Farm Service Agency farm serial number, irrigated 

and non-irrigated practices, noncontiguous land (for certain 

perennial crops), and for crops grown and insured as an 

organic practice.

When the policy allows, optional units may be established, 

provided the crop is planted in a manner that results in a clear 

and discernible break in the planting pattern at the boundaries 

of each optional unit, and the producer keeps separate, 

identifiable records of planted acreage and harvested production 

for each optional unit.

 • The enterprise unit consists of all insurable acreage of the 

insured crop in the county.
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 • The whole-farm unit includes all insurable acreage of all 

insured crops in the county.

 9 What type of acceptable production records do I need to support 

my reported production?

You need acceptable records to support the acreage and 

production reported/certified on your production reports. Your 

production reports and supporting records are used to calculate 

approved actual production history yields. Such production 

reports may consist of the following: farm management records, 

verifiable production reports, evidence recorded by the Farm 

Service Agency, evidence recorded by your RMA regional office 

or by an insurance company or agent approved by the Risk 

Management Agency, supporting evidence, and measurements of 

farm-stored production.

If you have crops or portions of a crop that were not sold or 

cannot be supported by records from an independent source such 

as bartered, used on the farm as seed, fed to livestock, from a 

vertically integrated grower-packer, etc., you must have records 

that show the harvesting, storing, or feeding of the insured crop 

for each crop year reported that were created at the time the 

harvesting, storing, or feeding took place. For example, you can 

use feeding records that account for the part of your crop that was 

fed to livestock. These records must have been maintained on a 

daily basis, and must have been generated during the time that 

your crop was fed to the livestock.

10 )What is a farm management record?

A farm management record must show your total acres and 

production by crop, crop year, and unit. It must use the unit 

structure that applies for the current insurance year in which you 

have a share in the crop and must include each actual production 

history year for which your production reports are certified.

These records are acceptable for barley, canola/rapeseed, corn, 

cotton, extra long staple cotton, dry beans (except contract seed 

beans), flax, forage production (fed and farm-stored production), 

grain sorghum, millet, oats, popcorn, rice, rye, safflower, 

soybeans, sunflower seed, and wheat.

The following types of records may be used to separate and 

document the production from different units, and to account for 

total production for the crop year:
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a. Field harvest records, which show production determined from 

truck or grain wagon loads that is documented by weight tickets 

or by conveyance measurements, separate measurements of 

unit production 

when placed 

in farm storage 

structures, 

cotton module 

measurements, 

and/or livestock 

feeding records.

b.Precision 

farming and 

yield monitoring 

systems may be 

used for actual 

production 

history records 

if they are 

calibrated to the 

manufacturer’s 

specifications and 

if the farm, field 

ID, crop, acres, total yield, harvest date, grower, and crop year 

are identified on a yield map or summary report.

11 What are verifiable production reports?

Verifiable production reports are reports that are supported by 

records from a marketing outlet, processor, packer, first handler, 

etc., or measurements of production stored on the farm by an 

authorized person from an approved crop insurance provider, the 

Farm Service Agency, or a Risk Management Agency regional 

office. These reports can be used for almonds, apples, blueberries, 

citrus (Arizona, California, and Texas citrus fruit), cranberries, dry 

beans (contract seed beans), dry peas, figs, forage production 

(sold production), grapes, macadamia nuts, onions, peaches, 

peanuts, pears, green peas, pecan revenue, plums, potatoes 

(Northern, Central, and Southern), processing beans, processing 

beets, sugarcane, table grapes, tobacco, tomatoes (processing and 

fresh-market, guaranteed production plan), and walnuts.
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Measurements of farm-stored production performed by an 

authorized person from a RMA regional office, the Farm Service 

Agency, or an approved crop insurance agent are considered to 

be verifiable production records for almonds, apples, blueberries, 

citrus (Arizona, California, and Texas citrus fruit), cranberries, 

dry beans (contract seed beans), dry peas, figs, forage production 

(sold production), grapes, 

macadamia nuts, onions, 

peaches, peanuts, pears, green 

peas, pecan revenue, plums, 

potatoes (Northern, Central, and 

Southern), processing beans, 

processing beets, sugarcane, 

table grapes, and tobacco.

12 Do the Farm Service Agency, 

the Risk Management Agency, 

and my crop insurance agent 

have documents that I can 

use to record my acreage and 

production? Can I use these 

documents as supporting 

evidence to prove my actual 

production history?

Yes. The Farm Service Agency 

uses standard forms to record 

acreage and production. These 

documents must meet the RMA’s record requirements for your 

crop such as being accurate and verifiable. If you have questions 

concerning the RMA’s record requirements, please contact your 

RMA regional office. The RMA or your crop insurance agent use 

Field Inspection and Claim for Indemnity forms, or Multi-Peril 

Crop Insurance Production Worksheet forms. Please contact 

your RMA regional office or your crop insurance agent for more 

information.

13 What does the Risk Management Agency accept as 

substantiated evidence?

Copies of elevator or warehouse receipts, ledger sheets, load 

summaries, settlement sheets, Commodity Credit Corporation loan 
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documents, etc., are accepted as supporting evidence as long as 

they include the following information:

a.Commodity;

b.Name of the buyer, storage facility, or marketing outlet;

c. Crop year produced and transaction date;

d.Insurance holder’s name;

e. Practice/type/variety (when 

applicable) and production 

quantity that can be converted 

to the proper unit of 

measure, if necessary.

14 Are pick records acceptable for 

fruit, nuts, and vegetable crops?

Where pick records are allowed 

as production evidence, they 

must meet the requirements 

of a record to support 

production reports and include 

the following:

a. Pick records must indicate 

the names of individuals paid 

by the grower (crew leader 

or picker).

b.A photocopy of the complete pick records for the crop year must 

be submitted to your crop insurance agent. There are provisions 

for summaries under certain circumstances (check with your 

crop insurance agent for more information).

c. Pick records must be accompanied by verifiable receipts.

d.Pick records must include the calculations you used to 

determine your total production or be accompanied by a cover 

page that shows the calculations you used to determine your 

production on the actual production history form. The RMA 

or your crop insurance agent must be able to verify all of your 

calculations.
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e. If the crop is marketed directly to the consumer, a pre-harvest 

appraisal (performed by your crop insurance agent or the RMA 

office in your region) is required by the policy. However, if 

the actuarial document for the crop has provisions that allow 

for it, the RMA may be able to waive this requirement if you 

can provide evidence that you are maintaining acceptable 

supporting documentation. Please check with your regional 

office or your crop insurance agent about what is considered 

acceptable supporting documentation for your crop in 

your area.

15 If I plan to feed some of my crop, do I need additional 

production records?

Yes. As a livestock producer, you should determine the amount of 

your production prior to feeding, if possible. However, if it is not 

possible, you must keep feeding records while you feed the crop 

to your livestock.

• If you do not keep acceptable records (e.g., bin measurements, 

ledger sheets, weight tickets, load records, etc.) that account for all 
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harvested production of the insured crop, and some or all of your 

production is then fed, you must keep acceptable written records 

of the fed production to prove your actual production history.

• You must keep records of each feeding (daily, weekly, 

bi-weekly), so you can prove the production you fed to 

livestock and the time feeding occurred.

• If you feed livestock from a previous year’s inventory and the 

current year’s production will be added to this inventory, the 

amount of the previous year’s production must be measured 

before you begin to harvest.

16 What kind of production records do I need to keep if 

I continuously feed the crop to livestock?

If you feed your livestock continuously, you must record 

the following:

a.Amount of grain/insured crop or commodity fed at each feeding 

interval (i.e., each day).

b.Bin/storage facility identification from which the crop 

was taken.

c. Estimated average weight of each kind of livestock, number of 

head, and location or pen number.

d.The crop year and unit number from which the fed production 

was harvested.

17 What if a crop from a prior year(s) is still in the bin, can I add the 

current year’s crop?

Yes. You can add the current year’s crop as long as the previous 

year’s crop is measured and documented first.

18 Can I combine grain production from different units and practices 

in the same storage structure?

Yes. You can combine grain storage provided that separate 

measurements of unit production are taken when placed in the 

bin. However, if you do not plan to make separate measurements 

from other units, you must maintain written records that 

reflect the production from each unit prior to being placed in 

the structure.
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19 Am I required to have a third party measure my on-farm grain 

storage or can I measure the grain? 

You may measure your grain storage structure, or you can request 

measurements from your crop insurance agent or from the Farm 

Service Agency for your actual production history records.

20 What type of documentation do I need to prove the grain storage 

structure measurements I make?

If you measure the grain storage structure, you must document 

your measurements and they must be supported by farm 

management records that account for your total production.

21 Do I include grain as seed for my own use in my actual production 

history, yield history? If so, are there additional requirements?

Yes. Grain as seed for your own use should be included in your 

actual production history, yield history. You must include your 

total production from all insurable acres.

The requirements for including grain as seed for your own use in 

your actual production history are:

a.You must furnish scale tickets or weight slips showing date of 

weighing, name of producer, and commodity.

b.You also must certify the amount of seed which was used for 

planting by certifying the amount of seed planted per acre and 

certifying and identifying the acreage on an aerial photo.

22 How many years do I need to keep production records that are 

used to substantiate my actual production? What happens if 

I cannot provide the records?

If you are applying for insurance for the first time, you must keep 

your acreage and production evidence 3 years after the end of 

the year in which they were certified. Once you are insured, you 

must keep the production records you used to prove your actual 

production for 3 years after the end of the year in which the actual 

production is certified. If you cannot supply records for those 

3 years, the assigned yield provisions will apply and you will be 

assigned a yield (an annual yield would be 75 percent of the prior 

year’s approved yield and a loss of optional units).
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23 Do I need to file a production report for a unit if I was paid an 

indemnity on that specific unit for the current crop year?

No. The claim for indemnity will be used as the production report 

for the indemnified unit.

24 Are there any special requirements for inspections before 

harvesting a crop and putting it into farm storage?

Yes, for some crops. For example, potatoes covered under the 

Northern Potato Crop Provisions must have a grade inspection 

prior to being put in storage if you do not buy the Storage 

Coverage Endorsement. If you do buy the Storage Coverage 

Endorsement, you must get samples within 60 days after the 

end of the insurance period and a grade determination must be 

completed using 21 days of sampling.

If you would like additional information or instructions about 

inspection and production reporting requirements, please refer 

to your crop insurance policy, the Risk Management Agency’s 

Web site: http://www.rma.usda.gov, or contact your crop 

insurance agent.
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• If you choose the Group Risk 

Plan or Group Risk Income 

Protection insurance plans, you 

are NOT required to report yield 

history or maintain production 

records. However, we encourage 

you to maintain your individual 

crop yield and acreage history 

in case you choose an insurance 

plan that uses actual production 

history yields for the same crop 

in the future.

• If you would like more detailed 

information, or if your question 

was not answered in this 

brochure, please contact a crop 

insurance agent. It doesn’t cost 

to ask.

• If you do not know how to 

contact a crop insurance 

agent, you can visit the 

Risk Management Agency’s 

“Agent Locator” link at 

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

tools/agent.html.

Some things to remember

• The accuracy of your records helps ensure that your rights under 

your crop insurance policy are protected.

• Having 4 or more years of records means that your actual 

production history will be the basis for your crop 

insurance coverage.

• Different crops have different kinds of recordkeeping requirements.
For information about risk management

Go to the Web site created especially for you:

Farm-Risk-Plans.USDA.gov

Helping farmers & ranchers find success
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United States Department of Agriculture

Risk Management Agency

Program Aid PA-2007 March 2009