Beekeepers can now have Crop Insurance

CROP INSURANCE FOR BEEKEEPERS NOW AVAILABLE

BISMARCK – Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson is encouraging North Dakota beekeepers to consider enrolling in a newly developed crop insurance pilot program for apiculture.

“The Risk Management Agency (RMA) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently testing two insurance programs to protect honey producers from loss of production,” Johnson said. “If these programs prove popular with producers, they may become a dependable tool for beekeepers to reduce their risk.”

The Rainfall Index (RI) program, now being tested in North Dakota, Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, Texas and Utah, is based on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center. Insurance payments to the producer are calculated based on the deviation from normal rainfall within a 144-square mile grid.

The Vegetation Index (VI) program will be tested in Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wyoming. It uses “normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data from the US Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Data Center to measure vegetation amount and condition and indicate production capacity.

Johnson said policyholders can insure apiary locations that are on land that is contiguous or non-contiguous and on single or multiple grids.

“There is more information about the new pilot programs on RMA’s website,” Johnson said. “Beekeepers can also contact local crop insurance agents to learn if the companies they represent are offering the pilot program.”

The RMA website is www.rma.usda.gov/policies/ri-vi/apiculture.html

North Dakota is the nation’s leading honey-producing state. North Dakota bee colonies produced 21 percent of the nation’s honey supply in 2007.