3.15.10 - Early this year, a number of growers contacted the KySGGA office to voice their concern over the removal of the Group Risk Plan (GRP) and Group Risk Income Protection (GRIP) plan for corn and soybeans in their counties. Both crop insurance plans are administered by the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) that use a county index as the basis for determining a loss.

According to the RMA, the county crop program deletions resulted, in part, from modifications by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to its county estimates program. While the modifications increased the reliability of NASS’ published county level estimates, it resulted in fewer publishable county estimates.

In order to ensure that the GRP/GRIP programs, especially the determination of the final county yields upon which indemnities are based, operate in a manner transparent to all affected policyholders, RMA reviewed the eligibility of all GRP/GRIP county programs.

While the plans are still available for wheat crops in a small number of Kentucky counties, growers worry that RMA will use the same justification to remove the plans for wheat later this year.

Cory Walters, University of Kentucky agricultural economist, says that both plans are simple risk management tools that offer reasonable protection from perils stemming from drought, excess moisture, etc. He also says that farmers will have to pay more for similar protection in the absence of GRP and GRIP plans.

In response, KySGGA executive director Laura Knoth traveled to Washington DC to meet with staff of the USDA Risk Management Agency, including RMA Administrator William Murphy, to ask RMA to reinstate the programs and rethink future changes.

After a positive discussion, Knoth said RMA agreed to review and reconsider Kentucky’s participation for 2011. She also said they would continue with discussions throughout the year.