Beginning producers can now use crop insurance and livestock insurance premium discounts for longer. Congressional legislation added five years of eligibility to the Beginning Farmer and Rancher (BFR) program. These young and beginning producers have access to additional premium subsidies up to ten years into their farming business.
Here’s how the discounts are applied:
| Years | Discount |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | 15% |
| 3 | 13% |
| 4 | 11% |
| 5-10 | 10% |
Beginning farmers are those facing some of the biggest challenges in the current agricultural economic downturn. They often end up paying higher rents to access farm ground. They might be farming less fertile soil, because it may have come out of pasture or Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). They’re likely making machinery payments. Any discount helps.
The discounts also apply to livestock insurance policies like Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) and Livestock Gross Margin (LGM). Often young producers can get started with livestock operations like cow calf production and grow from there.
This insurance premium subsidy can be stacked onto the others that are available.
| Unit Type | 50% | 55% | 60% | 65% | 70% | 75% | 80% | 85% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optional Unit | 67% | 69% | 69% | 64% | 64% | 60% | 51% | 41% |
| Basic Unit | 67% | 69% | 69% | 64% | 64% | 60% | 51% | 41% |
| Enterprise Unit | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 71% | 56% |
Premium subsidies have also been increased to 80% for Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) and Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO). Consider what this means. In years one and two, an 80% subsidy on area plans combined with the BFR subsidy means a 95% total subsidy on 95% coverage.
Before making insurance decisions, it’s a good idea to know your cost of production and in the case of area plans of insurance, understand how your yields compare to county yields. Talk with your insurance officer to determine the best base policy to meet your goals.
It’s important for these beginning producers to fill out the BFR application. Some may have aged out of the program earlier. They should now reapply for the remaining years of eligibility. A new application is not required for producers who are currently receiving benefits and have not changed Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs), did not cancel their application and have not accumulated 10 years of interest in a crop or livestock operation and continue to meet the requirements. If a producer is with a different AIP than they were when they originally received benefits or is transferring this year to a new AIP, they need to provide their original application of complete a new one.
The application deadline is December 1, 2025 for 2026 PRF policies, and March 15, 2026 for spring crop policies, same as the sales closing deadlines.
Reach out to your Farm Credit Services of America insurance officer for information on how to apply for BFR benefits and to have them use our exclusive technology to help you make the best insurance decisions for your farm.
