2020 Risk Management Decisions

As we settle into January, we often reflect back on yet another year and our many blessings. We might also contemplate that if only we had 20-20 hindsight, we would have made better decisions the previous year.

Agriculture is constantly changing and unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of 20-20 hindsight. Agriculture is an inherently risky business. Some risks are everyday business risks; some risks are brought on by natural disasters. Farmers need to regularly manage for financial, marketing, production, human resource, and legal risks. Looking ahead, the following risk management tools can help protect your business for the future.

Dairy-RP: Quarterly revenue protection by setting a floor for milk revenue declines.

LGM Dairy: Gross margin protection of milk value less feed costs.

Whole Farm Revenue Protection: Non-crop specific revenue protection based off your schedule F.

Yield Protection: Protects your crops against a yield loss.

Revenue Protection: Provides yield protection along with revenue losses due to market fluctuations.

Crop Hail: Acre-by-acre protection against hail.

Livestock Revenue Protection: New for 2020 in Pennsylvania! Provides market price protection based on futures for hogs, lambs and cattle.

Pasture, Rangeland, Forage: Insures your pasture or hay ground against a decline in rainfall.

Multi-Peril Crop Insurance: Protects against losses due to drought, flooding, frost, disease, insects, and other natural causes.

These are just a few of the available options, with variations and layers that your crop insurance agent can customize to fit your specific operation. Talk to your local agent for more details about any of these programs.

Author's Note: AgChoice Farm Credit specializes in providing farm and country property loans and financial services to help our Martinsburg customers.

Editor's Note: To learn more about AgChoice, call (814) 793-3783 or visit AgChoice.com.