COUNTRY Financial highlights federal crop insurance options ahead of March 15 deadline

As the March 15 deadline for purchasing, changing or canceling federal crop insurance approaches, COUNTRY Financial recently highlighted the options available to Illinois farmers and landowners.

“Farmers can further reduce risk by developing a grain marketing plan,” said COUNTRY Financial Vice President of Commercial Lines and Agribusiness Operations Sheri Bane. “Our financial representatives and crop specialists partner with AgriVisor LLC, a joint venture of GROWMARK Inc. and the Illinois Agricultural Association, to help farmers with market analysis and to secure grain contracts.”

Federal crop insurance is an important tool for farmers to protect against a potential loss of revenue or yield. Farmers who do not update, purchase or cancel their insurance by March 15 will maintain the same coverage they had in 2016.

"Federal crop insurance is a complex product and farmers have different needs," Bane said. "We recommend farm operators and managers meet with certified federal crop representatives to compare products and decide which policy is best for their situation."

COUNTRY Financial offers the following crop revenue products, which offer protection from crop prices and yields: Revenue Protection (RP), Revenue Protection with the Harvest Price Exclusion (RP-HPE), Area Revenue Protection (ARP), Area Revenue Protection with the Harvest Price Exclusion (ARP-HPE) and Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP). Additionally, the company offers Yield Protection (YP) and Area Yield Protection (AYP) policies that protect against a loss of production.