United States 

Department of 

Agriculture 

Program 

Aid 

1912 

A Risk Management Agency Fact Sheet 

Organic Farming Practices 

January 2011 

USDA Guidelines Provide Crop Insurance 

for Organic Farming Practices 

Organic farming has become one of the fastest 

growing segments of U.S. agriculture.* USDA’s Risk 

Management Agency (RMA) recognizes organic 

farming practices as good farming practices and 

continues to move forward in improving crop 

insurance coverage for organic producers and 

producers transitioning to organic production, so they 

will have viable and effective risk management options 

available to them. 

*Source: Economic Research Service. USDA’s National Agriculture 

Statistics Service’s 2008 Organic Production Survey counted 14,540 

organic farms and ranches in the United States, comprising 4.1 

million acres of land. Of these farms, 10,903 are USDA certified and 

3,637 are exempt from certification. 

Coverage Availability 

RMA currently provides coverage for—1) certified 

organic acreage; 2) transitional acreage (acreage on 

which organic farming practices are being followed 

that does not yet qualify to be designated as certified 

organic acreage); and 3) buffer zone acreage. 

Insurance can only be provided for any crop grown 

using organic farming practices when a premium rate 

for the organic practice is contained within the 

actuarial documents or there is an approved written 

agreement. 

Insurable Causes of Loss 

Covered perils under most crop insurance policies 

include losses due to the following causes if the 

damage is significant enough to lower a yield below 

the deductible for the entire insured unit: drought, 

excess moisture, freeze, hail, prevented planting (for 

crops eligible for prevented planting, see Basic 

Provisions, 2011-BR), insect damage, disease, and 

weeds, if recognized organic farming practices fail to 

provide an effective control method that may result in 

losses. 

Note: Contamination by application or drift of prohibited substances 

onto organic, transitional, or buffer zone acreage is not an insured 

peril. Policies also have some exclusions with which you should 

become familiar. 

If any acreage qualified as certified organic acreage or 

transitional acreage on the date you report such 

acreage (even if such certification is later revoked by 

the certifying agent or the certifying agent no longer 

considers the acreage as transitional acreage for the 

remainder of the crop year) that acreage will remain 

insured under the reported practice for which it 

qualified at the time the acreage was reported. Any 

loss due to failure to comply with the organic 

standards is considered an uninsured cause of loss. 

Reporting Acreage 

On the date you report acreage you must have—1) for 

certified organic acreage, a current organic plan and 

recent written certification (certificate) in effect from 

a certifying agent; or 2) for transitional acreage, a 

certificate or written documentation from a certifying 

agent showing that an organic plan is in effect*; and 

for both 3) records from the certifying agent showing 

the specific location of each field of certified organic, 

transitional, buffer zone, and acreage maintained and 

not maintained under organic farming practices. 

You are required to maintain separate Actual 

Production History databases for conventional, 

transitional, and certified organic acreage. Also, all 

buffer zone acreage production has to be added to the 

acreage that it buffers. 

*Note: Acreage transitioning to a certified organic farming practice 

without an organic certificate or written documentation from a 

certifying agency must be insured under conventional farming 

practices. 

Prices, Insurance Dollar Amounts, and 

Premiums 

Beginning in 2011, separate organic price elections, 

projected prices, and harvest prices, as applicable, are 

available for: cotton, corn, soybeans, and tomatoes 

(processing). For all other crops, the price elections 

insurance amounts, projected prices, and harvest prices 

that apply to both certified organic and transitional 

crops will be the price elections, insurance amounts, 

projected prices, and harvest prices, as applicable. 

RMA publishes for the crop grown using conventional 

means, for the current crop year. 

Risk Management Agency Organic Farming Practices/Program Aid 1912 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: All approved organic price elections, projected prices, 

and harvest prices will be available on the Actuarial 

Information Brower under the ‘prices’ tab. To see estimated 

prices based on current market information for organic corn, 

cotton, and soybeans, check out the “Price Discovery 

Reporting Application”. Both the Actuarial Information 

Brower and the Price Discovery Tool are available under the 

‘Information Browser’ on http://www.rma.usda.gov/tools/. 

Premiums are adjusted to recognize any additional risk 

associated with covering organic farming practices 

under the terms of the Crop Provisions. These premium 

adjustments are reviewed annually based on the 

accumulated insurance experience. For the 2011 crop 

year, there is no additional charge for the following 

organic crop insurance programs: figs, Florida citrus 

fruit, Florida fruit trees, macadamia trees, nursery, 

pears, peppers, prunes, Texas citrus trees, and Texas 

citrus fruit (for these programs, the Crop Provisions 

specify a very limited set of causes of loss that are 

independent of farming practices or other variable 

circumstances. This was further supported by a review 

of the accumulated insurance experience and the 

removal of the additional charge). 

Definitions 

Buffer Zone—A parcel of land, as designated in your 

organic plan, that separates agricultural commodities 

grown under organic practices from agricultural 

commodities grown under non-organic practices, and 

used to minimize the possibility of unintended contact 

by prohibited substances or organisms. 

Good Farming Practices—The production methods 

used to produce the insured crop, allow it to make 

normal progress toward maturity, and produce at least 

the yield used to determine the production guarantee or 

insurance amount, including adjustments for lateplanted acreage, which are—1) for conventional or 

sustainable farming practices, those generally 

recognized by agricultural experts for the area; or 2) for 

organic farming practices, those generally recognized 

by organic agriculture experts for the area or contained 

in the organic plan. 

Organic Agriculture Experts—Persons who are 

employed by the following organizations—Appropriate 

Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), the 

Cooperative Extension System, university agriculture 

departments, or other persons approved by the Federal 

Crop Insurance Corporation, whose research or 

occupation is related to the specific organic crop or 

practice for which such expertise is sought. 

Organic Crop—An agricultural commodity that is 

organically produced, consistent with section 2103 of 

the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 

 (7 U.S.C. 6502). 

Organic Farming Practice—A system of plant 

production practices used to produce an organic crop 

approved by a certifying agent, in accordance with 7 

CFR part 205. 

Organic Plan*—A written plan, in accordance with the 

USDA National Organic Program published in 7 CFR 

part 205, that describes the organic farming practices 

that you and a certifying agent agree upon annually or 

at such other times as prescribed by the certifying agent 

(*also called an Organic Systems Plan). 

Organic Standards—Standards in accordance with the 

Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 

et seq.) and 7 CFR part 205. 

Where To Purchase and Insurable Crops 

You should talk to your crop insurance agent to get 

specific information and deadlines. To find a list of 

crop insurance agents see: http://www.rma.usda.gov/ 

tools/agent.html. For a list of insurable crops, see: 

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

More information on RMA’s Organic Crop Insurance 

Program can be found on RMA’s Web site: http:// 

www.rma.usda.gov/news/currentissues/organics/ 

index.html 

Contact Us 

Regional Offices: 

http://www.rma.usda.gov/aboutrma/fields/rsos.html 

National Organic Contact: 

Sharon Hestvik, 202-720-6685 

E-mail: Sharon.Hestvik@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 Organic Farming Practices/Program Aid 1912