Pa. Announces Significant Expansion Of Crop Insurance Coverage

Pennsylvania’s Agriculture Secretary Dennis C. Wolff announced that the state’s “AGR-Lite” crop insurance protection program’s maximum policy size has been raised to $250,000, from the original $100,000 ceiling. The program is an improved and streamlined version of the “Adjusted Gross Revenue” program. It was introduced in 2002.

“This increase will extend protection eligibility for producers with annual gross revenues up to $500,000,” said the bulletin. It also indicated that the “Department proposed that AGR-Lite be available for use in 11 other targeted northeastern states. In addition to Pennsylvania, the expanded program will reach a number of counties in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, and selected counties in West Virginia, New York, and Maryland, as approved by the Risk Management Agency.” It also noted the leading role Pennsylvania has taken in developing crop insurance products.

“The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture designed a crop insurance product that increases the availability of risk management tools for small, diversified farms and has been beneficial to many Pennsylvania producers,” stated Risk Management Agency Administrator Ross Davidson, Jr. “RMA commends the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors for expanding AGR-Lite to historically underserved states.”

Secretary Wolff noted: “Pennsylvania farmers are faced with increasing market and weather-related risks, and need access to a risk-management program that reflects production aspects unique to Pennsylvania and the northeast. AGR-Lite reflects our agriculture’s unique diversity and has the potential of providing meaningful crop insurance protection for virtually all types of crops, animal production, and byproducts (including milk) for the vast majority of Pennsylvania farmers.”

AGR-Lite will be made available for producer enrollment in mid-December with Jan. 31, 2004, as the enrollment deadline. Purchase will be made through crop insurance agents.