Pilot Program for apiculture
Additional Information
The Risk Management Agency is now offering pilot insurance programs for apiculture. These new pilot programs use rainfall and vegetation greenness indices to estimate local rainfall and plant health, allowing beekeepers to purchase insurance protection against production risks. The Rainfall Index and the Vegetation Index use the same basic provisions as the Pasture, Rangeland, Forage pilot program.
Basic provisions are the terms and conditions included in all policies under these plans. The Apiculture Pilot Insurance Programs provide a safety net for beekeepers' primary income sources - honey, pollen collection, wax, and breeding stock. Apiculture systems consist of different types of plants or crops and often contain mixtures of different species, each with different growth habits and seasons, vegetation greenness and heath, rain requirements, and other climate conditions necessary to maintain plant growth over extended periods of time.
The Rainfall Index and Vegetation Index apiculture programs use new technology to assess losses in plant production across diverse plant conditions and environments. The Rainfall Index uses National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center (NOAA CPC) data, and each grid is 0.25 degrees in latitude by 0.25 degrees in longitude. You must select at least two, 2-month time periods where rain is important to your operation in your area.
These time periods are called index intervals. Your insurance payments will be calculated using NOAA CPC data for the grid(s) and index interval(s) you have chosen to insure. When the final grid index falls below your "trigger grid index," (coverage level multiplied by the expected grid index) you may receive a loss payment.
This insurance coverage is for a single peril-lack of rain. Coverage is based on the experience of the entire grid. It is NOT based on individual farms, ranches, or specific weather stations in the general area.