State of Washington October 2, 2023 – Today, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing a new crop insurance program designed for agricultural producers who rely on controlled environments for their operations. The new Controlled Environment Program from USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is specific to plants grown in fully enclosed controlled environments and provides coverage for plant diseases that are subject to destruction orders. The Controlled Environment Program, available starting with the 2024 crop year, provides risk management resources for urban growers, specialty crop producers, and organic producers who often use controlled environments as a key part of their operations.
“We are constantly working to improve and expand the crop insurance resources we offer farmers, and our new Environmental Stewardship Program offers significant benefits to urban, specialty crop, organic and other producers growing in controlled environments. It will be profitable,” said RMA administrator Marcia Bunger. “Controlled agriculture is a rapidly growing sector of U.S. food production, and this new option is part of USDA’s broader efforts to support urban agriculture and new and better markets for U.S. producers. It’s part of it.”
The Managed Environment Program is a dollar-for-dollar insurance plan in which the insured’s coverage is based on the inventory value reported by the grower and the protection of the plant if it must be destroyed under a federal or state destruction order. Provides compensation for illness.
The Managed Environment Program adds to two other federal insurance products available to nursery producers and innovative agricultural producers by providing benefits not available in other programs, including:
- Covers all controlled environment plants including cuttings, seedlings and tissue culture.
- Deliver crop insurance coverage through a streamlined application and policy renewal process.
- We provide new crop insurance specifically for plant disease risks in environmental management businesses.
- Unlike other nursery insurance programs, it provides insurance for grower-selected managed environment plant categories.
- Allows managed environment operations to purchase single risk controlled environment insurance as a standalone policy or in combination with other childcare insurance.
The first sale end date is December 1, 2023.
Managed Environment Programs include: Alabama, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
For more information
RMA will be holding virtual and in-person information sessions this month. learn more.
Crop insurance is sold and offered only 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. For more information about crop insurance and the latest farm safety nets, visit rma.usda.gov or contact your RMA regional office.
