Farm & Crop Insurance for Organic Producers

Farm liability insurance protects you from financial losses when third parties — customers, visitors, employees, or neighbors — suffer bodily injury or property damage as a result of your farming operations. For certified organic producers, selecting the right liability coverage requires attention to both standard farm risks and organic-specific exposures.

Key elements to evaluate in farm liability coverage:

1. Coverage Limits: Liability policies are expressed as per-occurrence and aggregate limits. Common starting points are $1 million per occurrence / $2 million aggregate, but your operation's size, visitor traffic, and on-farm activity level should determine your appropriate limits.

2. Business Activities Covered: Ensure the policy covers all of your farm's revenue-generating activities — including direct sales, farmers markets, agritourism, CSA operations, and any on-farm processing — each of which may require specific endorsements.

3. Organic-Specific Exposures: If you sell directly to consumers claiming organic status, your policy should cover product liability claims related to that marketing. Confirm with your agent that the policy covers products marketed as certified organic.

4. Employer Liability and Workers' Compensation: If you have employees — including seasonal workers — employer liability coverage and workers' compensation are typically required by state law and are separate from general liability.

5. Umbrella Coverage: A commercial umbrella policy provides additional liability coverage above your underlying policy limits for a relatively low premium — an important backstop for farms with significant public exposure.

A comprehensive organic farm insurance program typically combines several types of coverage addressing different risk categories:

Property Insurance:

• Farm dwelling and household contents

• Farm structures (barns, grain bins, greenhouses, equipment sheds)

• Farm equipment and machinery (scheduled equipment floater)

• Livestock (mortality coverage)

• Stored grain and produce

Crop Insurance:

• Federal crop insurance through USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) — available with organic price elections for most major commodity crops

• Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) — particularly well-suited to diversified organic operations

• See organic crop insurance section below for details

Liability Insurance:

• Farm general liability (premises and operations)

• Products liability (covering products you sell, including certified organic products)

• Employer liability and workers' compensation

• Commercial umbrella (excess liability above underlying limits)

Specialty Coverages:

• Agritourism liability (if you have farm visitors, U-pick operations, or farm events)

• Farm rental insurance (if you rent out land or equipment)

• Commercial auto (for farm vehicles used on public roads)

Organic-specific consideration: Your organic certification creates an expectation of organic integrity in everything you sell. Ensure your products liability coverage explicitly covers certified organic product claims.

Insurance policies must be kept current to ensure you are fully protected. Many farms suffer coverage gaps not because they lacked insurance but because they failed to update their policies as their operations changed. Review your coverage annually — ideally before your renewal date — and update whenever any of the following changes occur:

Scheduled Property Updates:

• New equipment purchases: Add each piece of new machinery to your scheduled equipment list within 30 days of acquisition

• New farm structures: Report new buildings, grain bins, greenhouses, or high tunnels as soon as they are erected

• Livestock herd changes: Update livestock values if your herd size or composition changes significantly

Operational Changes:

• New crop enterprises: If you add a new organic crop, ensure it is covered under your crop insurance and property policy

• New market channels: If you begin direct sales, agritourism, CSA, or online sales, notify your agent — these activities may require additional endorsements

• New employees: Update your workers' compensation and employer liability coverage as your workforce changes

• New leased land: Ensure newly rented land and its structures are covered

Certification-Related Updates:

• If your organic certification scope expands (e.g., you add livestock to an existing crop certification), update your insurer to reflect the full scope of your certified organic operation

Annual review reminder: Many organic producers find that their annual certification renewal is a convenient trigger for an insurance policy review as well.

Yes — USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) offers federal crop insurance with specific provisions for certified organic producers through the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP). Organic producers have access to organic price elections and whole farm revenue coverage options that recognize the premium value of certified organic crops.

Key organic crop insurance programs:

1. Organic Price Elections: For most major commodity crops covered by individual crop policies (corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and others), RMA offers an organic price election — an insured price that reflects organic market prices rather than conventional commodity prices. This means your insured revenue per bushel reflects the organic premium, not the conventional price.

2. Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP): A whole-farm level policy that insures your farm's total revenue from all crops and livestock in a single policy — particularly well-suited to diversified organic operations with multiple enterprises.

3. Transitional and Organic Grower Assistance (TOGA): A USDA RMA initiative to increase crop insurance participation by organic and transitioning producers through outreach, education, and targeted program improvements.

Organic surcharge: Federal crop insurance policies with organic price elections carry a modest premium surcharge above conventional policy rates, reflecting the higher insured value of organic crops. Despite this surcharge, organic crop insurance premiums are heavily subsidized by USDA — typically 60% or more of the premium cost is covered by the federal government.

An organic price election is a USDA RMA crop insurance option that insures your organic crop at an organic market price rather than the conventional commodity price. It is one of the most important crop insurance tools for certified organic producers.

How it works:

• When purchasing your federal crop insurance policy, you elect between the conventional price and the organic price for each crop

• RMA sets organic prices based on organic market data, typically at a premium above conventional prices

• Your insured revenue per unit (per bushel, per hundredweight) reflects the organic price — so if your crop fails or is damaged, your indemnity payment reflects the organic value you lost, not the lower conventional value

Example:

If organic corn is insured at $8.50/bu (organic price election) vs. $4.50/bu (conventional), and you have a total crop loss on 100 acres at a 150 bu/acre APH:

• Conventional indemnity: 150 bu × $4.50 = $675/acre

• Organic indemnity: 150 bu × $8.50 = $1,275/acre

The organic price election more than doubles your indemnity payment in this example.

Important requirements:

• You must maintain your organic certification to receive an organic price election indemnity — if you lose your certification due to a compliance issue, your coverage reverts to conventional prices

• Organic price elections must be purchased by the sales closing date for your crop — typically in the spring

• Confirm current organic price elections for your crops with a crop insurance agent who is familiar with RMA's organic provisions

Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) is a USDA RMA crop insurance policy that insures your farm's total revenue from all crops and livestock enterprises in a single, whole-farm level policy — rather than insuring each crop separately.

WFRP is particularly well-suited to diversified organic operations because:

• Many organic farms grow multiple crop types and raise livestock — making it cumbersome to purchase and manage separate crop-specific policies for each enterprise

• WFRP covers all commodities you produce on the farm, including specialty crops, organic livestock, and minor crops that may not have their own standalone crop insurance products

• WFRP provides revenue protection against the combination of low prices and/or low yields — protecting against both market risk and production risk simultaneously

How WFRP works:

• Coverage is based on your farm's historic revenue from IRS Schedule F tax returns (5 years)

• You choose a coverage level (50–85% of your historic average revenue)

• If your actual revenue falls below your chosen coverage level, you receive an indemnity payment for the difference

• Premium subsidy: WFRP premiums are subsidized by USDA at rates of 50–80% depending on coverage level

WFRP considerations for organic farms:

• Your organic revenue history is reflected in your Schedule F — so your insured revenue incorporates organic premiums

• WFRP requires diversified operations with multiple revenue streams to be most effective

• Talk to a crop insurance agent familiar with WFRP and organic operations to determine if it is the right fit

The Transitional and Organic Grower Assistance (TOGA) program is a USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) initiative designed to increase awareness and participation in federal crop insurance among organic and transitioning producers — two groups that have historically been underserved by traditional crop insurance.

What TOGA provides:

• Outreach and education to organic and transitioning producers about available crop insurance options, including organic price elections and Whole Farm Revenue Protection

• Targeted support for producers who are new to crop insurance or whose operations fall outside the coverage parameters of standard commodity crop policies

• In some program years, premium assistance: TOGA has provided premium reductions or free policies to organic and transitioning producers as an enrollment incentive

Transitional producer coverage:

• One of TOGA's important functions is addressing the coverage gap for transitioning producers: conventional crop insurance pricing reflects conventional markets, but transitioning producers are investing in organic practices

• TOGA resources help transitioning producers understand their crop insurance options during the 36-month transition period

How to access TOGA resources:

• Contact your local crop insurance agent and specifically ask about TOGA provisions and organic crop insurance options

• USDA RMA's website (rma.usda.gov) maintains current information on TOGA and organic-specific crop insurance programs

• Your local USDA FSA Service Center can also connect you with RMA resources

Federal crop insurance is sold through private insurance agents who are licensed to sell USDA RMA products — not directly through USDA. Here is the application process:

Step 1 — Find a crop insurance agent:

• USDA RMA's agent locator tool at rma.usda.gov can help you find agents in your area

• Look specifically for agents with experience selling policies to organic producers — not all agents are familiar with organic price elections and WFRP

Step 2 — Gather your documentation:

• 5 years of IRS Schedule F (farm income tax returns) — required for establishing Actual Production History (APH) and for WFRP

• Your current Certificate of Organic Operation

• Farm maps showing field locations, acreage, and crop history

• Yield records for each insured crop

Step 3 — Meet the sales closing date:

• Federal crop insurance has firm sales closing dates — typically in the spring for summer crops. Missing the deadline means waiting until the next crop year.

• Contact your agent well before the sales closing date for your primary crops — ideally 30–60 days in advance

Step 4 — Choose your coverage:

• Select your policy type (individual crop policies vs. WFRP), coverage level, and organic price election

• Your agent will calculate premium costs for each option

Step 5 — Pay your premium and receive your policy:

• Premiums are typically paid at or after harvest, depending on the policy type

• USDA subsidizes 60–80% of your crop insurance premium

Organic certification affects your farm insurance in several important ways — some beneficial, some requiring specific attention:

Crop Insurance — Beneficial:

• Certified organic producers are eligible for organic price elections, which insure your crop at organic market prices rather than conventional prices — significantly higher indemnity payments in a loss year

• WFRP coverage reflects your historic organic revenue, preserving the organic premium in your insured revenue base

Crop Insurance — Requirement:

• To maintain an organic price election, you must maintain your organic certification. If your certification lapses or is suspended due to a compliance issue, your crop insurance coverage will revert to conventional pricing — potentially a large reduction in indemnity value

• This makes compliance record-keeping directly tied to your financial protection: losing certification is both a market and an insurance loss

Farm Liability — Attention Required:

• Marketing products as 'certified organic' creates a specific product liability exposure: if a buyer claims your products were not actually organic or caused harm based on the organic claim, your policy needs to cover this

• Confirm with your insurance agent that your products liability coverage explicitly covers certified organic product claims and marketing

Premium Impact:

• Organic price election policies carry a modest premium surcharge (typically 5–25% above conventional rates)

• This surcharge is generally well worth paying given the much higher indemnity value the organic election provides