Is it just us, or does the rain seem to disappear, right when you’re most needing it?

When dry weather rolls in, farmers turn to the security offered by crop insurance. But ranchers need a unique solution: Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) insurance, a federally subsidized program designed to help protect against forage loss caused by dry conditions and lack of rainfall.

PRF is crop insurance for ranchers who experience increased costs when grazing or haying cattle during a period of dry weather. It’s a risk management tool that provides indemnity payments when average precipitation levels fall below a rainfall index model.

This type of insurance can be easily customized to the needs of your operation thanks to a variety of coverage options. When securing PRF insurance, you can customize the following:

Seems simple enough, right? Before you choose Pasture, Rangeland, Forage insurance as your tool to protect your livestock operation in times of dry weather, you should be sure to evaluate long-term rainfall patterns, calculate premiums and possible payments, and determine eligibility.

Though PRF is available in all 48 contiguous states, certain regions of the country have more total acres insured under the program. According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, producers insured approximately 296.7 million acres in 2024, with most of those in the western half of the country.

While data may reflect cattle producers’ desires to protect against the risk of dry conditions, making decisions about your PRF insurance coverage based on a broad experience of rainfall in your grid can help you to determine the best plan for the long-term success of your operation and your policy.

The RMA’s PRF Rainfall tool can get you started in exploring strategies to select coverage intervals and levels based on your geographic region. However, a consistent long-term strategy is important to success with PRF insurance coverage.

When you’re ready to learn more about the policy, the HPFC crop insurance team comes equipped with data specific to your region and years of experience assisting cattle producers throughout the PRF strategy and application process.

Evaluation of historical data in your area is key to understanding the financial risk of your policy. But even with the best plans, it should come as no shock to learn that the weather is unpredictable. This fact creates a certain amount of risk when choosing whether or not to sign up for PRF insurance coverage.

Fortunately, PRF requires no upfront premium payments, allowing you the flexibility to use funds in other areas of your ranching operation. In fact, PRF is a self-funding program, meaning that if you receive insurance indemnity payments, you may pay no premiums out of pocket.

Premiums are calculated based on coverage level and the variability of precipitation during the selected coverage interval. These intervals range from 70% to 90% and increase at 5% intervals.

Lower coverage levels can reduce premium costs and are also subsidized at higher rates. Higher coverage levels, such as 85% and 90%, result in higher premiums. You’ll also pay higher premiums to insure acreage during a two-month period that historically demonstrates greater variability of rainfall.

Using rainfall data provided by the Climate Prediction Center, ranchers can better predict variability and select the most cost-effective coverage intervals.

PRF payments are calculated based on how much actual rainfall deviates from the expected grid, county base value per acre by crop type, and the producer-selected coverage level. Ranchers that understand how payments are determined can use the PRF program to mitigate risk and maintain financial stability during periods of normal rainfall or drought.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln found that over the past six years of the PRF program (2019-2024), the producer loss ratio was 2.19. This means that for every $1 of premiums, producers received $2.19 in payments. This figure differs based on region and precipitation variability in that area, making it even more important to work with industry experts to determine if PRF is right for your operation.

While it’s possible to receive indemnities even when you have adequate rainfall, the area-based nature of PRF can also create a situation in which you might have low rainfall without any payments from insurance.

Such a scenario highlights the value of risk-management strategies and working with a crop insurance agent to ensure accurate risk assessment for your operation’s success. These agents can also provide you with additional tools, like Livestock Risk Protection, that can add another layer of security for ranchers by safeguarding against price fluctuations in the market.

To further the aim of operational flexibility and efficiency, the USDA offers subsidies for premiums. These subsidies differ based on coverage level and decrease as the level of coverage increases. They range from 51% to 59%.

USDA subsidies can help to ease the financial burden and risk required of ranchers considering Pasture, Rangeland, Forage insurance coverage. However, working with a High Plains Farm Credit crop insurance expert can help you to accurately analyze the risks and benefits of PRF insurance.

Contacting a crop insurance agent ensures that you can navigate risk-based coverage options tailored to your ranch’s needs.

If you’re thinking a PRF policy might benefit your livestock operation during the current dry conditions, you’ll want to confirm your eligibility for the program.

According to the RMA, Pasture, Rangeland, Forage policies are intended for those that “own or have an insurable interest in the livestock.” You must be able to provide records demonstrating this interest and that you grazed the livestock. Valid documents can include:

If you must destock due to natural causes, you can also produce records of disposition.

While PRF policies are commonly used to insure pasture for grazing, you can also apply for PRF coverage on land used for haying, as long as it is not covered under other crop insurance programs.

As a final, yet essential, consideration when exploring PRF insurance coverage for next year, the deadline to lock in your insurance for 2027 is December 1, 2026.

Contact our crop insurance team today to find out if Pasture, Rangeland, Forage insurance is right for you. We’re ready to assist as you evaluate precipitation patterns, coverage levels, and how the policy can protect your livestock operation!