Wisconsin farmers now have additional insurance options for certain crops.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) has introduced the Margin Coverage Option (MCO) insurance, which applies to both soybean and corn crops in the state of Wisconsin.
MCO insurance provides growers with coverage based on their location to protect against unexpected decreases in operating margin or their revenue minus input costs.
These decreases can come from a wide array of reasons, including reduced yields in a grower’s county, reduced commodity prices, or increased prices of certain inputs.
The MCO insurance option offers coverages that range from 86% to 95% of a grower’s expected crop value.
While costs continue to increase, Laura Heinrich, Director of the RMA Regional Office in St. Paul, said, “We’re excited to offer this product as an improved coverage option to producers who increasingly face input cost uncertainty.”
MCO is being offered for other crops across the country as well; however, corn and soybeans are the only crops eligible in Wisconsin.
Crop insurance is sold and delivered exclusively through private insurance agents, and a list of agents can be found for Wisconsin farmers by visiting rma.usda.gov.
