The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), established in 1996, plays a pivotal role in supporting American agriculture by offering effective, market-based risk management tools, and its purpose is to protect farmers against production, yield, or revenue losses from naturally occurring events such as disease or weather. RMA provides the largest permanent farm safety net program from the USDA, and these tools are designed to enhance the economic stability of agricultural producers and rural communities, in addition to giving farmers peace of mind when it comes to losses of their crops that are beyond their control.
Key Functions of RMA
- Federal Crop Insurance Management: The RMA administers the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, providing innovative crop insurance to farmers and ranchers across the nation. This partnership with private insurance providers ensures producers have access to essential risk management tools when needed.
- Policy and Procedure development: The agency offers a comprehensive repository of policies, handbooks, and memos to guide producers and insurance providers. These resources are crucial for understanding the intricacies of crop insurance programs and to ensure compliance with federal guidelines.
- Educational Outreach: Recognizing the importance of informed decision-making, the RMA funds partnership projects annually through cooperative agreements with nonprofits, universities, and industry groups. These initiatives aim to deliver risk management education and training to farmers nationwide, ensuring they are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of agricultural production.
- Tools and Reports: To assist producers in making informed decisions, the RMA provides various tools and reports, including agricultural documents, agent locators, approved insurance provider lists, cost estimators, and county crop programs. These resources offer valuable insights into insurance rates, yields, and historical data.
RMA Benefits for Beginning Farmers
RMA’s commitment to providing robust risk management tools and educational resources underscores its vital role in sustaining the economic health of America’s agricultural sector. By leveraging these offerings, producers can better manage the uncertainties inherent in farming and ensure the continued prosperity of their operations. RMA can also be beneficial for those who are in the beginning stages of building their agricultural business.
After registering your farm with the FSA, the next step is to sign up for crop insurance. RMA offers benefits for beginning farmers and ranchers that includes exemptions from administrative fees for catastrophic events and additional coverage policies. They can also have reduced costs for those additional coverage policies through an additional 10% of the premium subsidy. These benefits last for five years as long as you still qualify as a beginning or veteran farmer or until you cancel your application. In addition to these benefits, there are others that can help make buying crop insurance a smooth process and allow you to prepare for what may come.
Getting Started with RMA
To discover the myriad benefits of federal crop insurance programs and how they can benefit you, start by looking for a local RMA agent near your farm using the Agent Locator tool. This will help you find an agent that understands your locality and can offer you options specific to your county or city that can help with buying crop insurance for your farm.
RMA is a helpful tool for farmers of all levels to learn the ins and outs of their farming business to become successful in the agricultural space. Many resources are available to ensure farmers’ success and to plan accordingly when it comes to natural disasters and catastrophic events. While we can not predict everything that can happen to your farm in the future, RMA helps you manage key risks, in addition to giving you contact information for USDA representatives who are there to help you in every step of the way.
