USDA makes improvements to camelina pilot insurance program

The USDA announced June 26 improvements to the camelina pilot crop-insurance program for the 2025 and succeeding crop years.

USDA’s Risk Management Agency is expanding coverage options by allowing enterprise units and increasing maximum coverage levels.

In addition, RMA is aligning planting dates with winter wheat for the Southern Plains.

“The Risk Management Agency is responding to producer needs by expanding enterprise unit coverage to camelina producers and offering higher levels of coverage to allow producers to better manage their risks,” said Marcia Bunger, the RMA administrator.

The following expanded coverage options will take effect starting with the 2025 crop year:

• Expanding enterprise units to camelina.
  

• Increasing the maximum allowable coverage level from 65 percent to 85 percent, in 5 percent increments.

• Revising camelina plating dates in the Southern Plains region to match planting dates for winter wheat. 

RMA collaborated with stakeholders to modify this program.

In crop year 2024, producers insured $3 million in covered liabilities on over 20,000 camelina acres.

The camelina crop-insurance policy offers actual production history coverage, which insures a producer’s historical yield.

Only camelina grown under contract with a processor is eligible for coverage, and the price in the contract is used to establish the insurance coverage.

Producers that are interested in planting and insuring camelina should speak to their crop-insurance agent about additional details, including upcoming sales closing dates for their area and the written agreement process.

The pilot program is available to producers in select counties in Kansas, Montana and North Dakota.

It is also available by written agreement in select nonprogram counties in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop-insurance agents.

A list of crop-insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers and online at the RMA agent locator.