Dec. 1 may seem like a long way off, but it’s just around the corner. Before we know it, it will be time for family to visit, holiday preparations to begin, and producers to make decisions about pasture, rangeland, and forage insurance, commonly called PRF.

PRF insurance provides producers with the opportunity to insure 70-90% of the expected grid index precipitation, in 5% increments, across a series of two-month intervals throughout the year. PRF is an area-based insurance plan that covers perennial pasture, rangeland, or forage used to feed livestock.

PRF provides producers with a risk management tool to help manage the risk associated with the precipitation needed to produce forage for their operation. However, it is important to remember that PRF does not guarantee that a pasture will produce a certain amount of forage.

With the Dec. 1 deadline approaching, producers should give themselves time to review their acres, rainfall history, coverage levels, selected intervals, and premiums with their insurance agent. If pasture or hay ground is one of your operation’s biggest resources, when was the last time you looked at how you are protecting it from drought?

Now is the time to think about whether you want to make any changes to your PRF coverage. Some questions I encourage producers to ask themselves include:

• Did my operation change?
• Did I add or remove pasture? Did my grazing strategy change?
• Are my selected intervals still the most important months for my operation?
• Has my need for drought risk protection changed?

These are just a few questions to consider when reviewing your PRF coverage. Don’t wait until Dec. 1 to start the conversation. Take some time now to review your coverage and talk with your insurance agent about whether your current PRF policy still fits your operation.

For more information about PRF, visit cap.unl.edu or contact your local crop insurance agent.

By Shannon Sand

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