Rainfall Index

Annual Forage Insurance covers acreage planted each year for livestock feed or fodder, offering risk protection from lack of rainfall. 

Coverage is available on acres used for grazing, haying, grazing/haying, grain/grazing, green chop, grazing/green chop, or silage.

Both irrigated and non-irrigated acres are insurable.

Indemnities are paid when rainfall during a specific two-month period in a specific area (grid) falls below a selected percentage of historic average rainfall. Payments are based on final conditions in the entire grid, not on a specific property within that grid.  Actual Production History (APH) policies insure producers against yield losses due to natural causes such as drought, excessive moisture, hail, wind, frost, insects, and disease. 

Pasture, Rangeland and Forage (PRF) Insurance protects hay and livestock producers against loss of forage due to drought. The program uses precipitation levels determined by a rainfall index to determine when the plan pays an indemnity. 

Choose the number of acres you want to insure.

Select at least two, 2-month periods—called index intervals—in which precipitation is important to your operation.

Coverage is based on the experience of the entire grid – not on an individual farm or ranch or a specific weather station in the general area.

Insurance payments are determined using NOAA CPC data for the grids and index intervals you choose to insure. When the final grid index falls below your “trigger grid index,” you may receive an indemnity for lack of precipitation.