Building Private Sector Partnerships is Key for RMA

Agriculture is a risky business. USDA works with private companies to manage a national insurance program providing more than $150 billion annually to protect America’s hard-working farmers and ranchers.

I recently met with National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS), an industry group for companies servicing Federal crop insurance policies. There are 12 such corporations, known as Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs). It was a wonderful opportunity to listen to our partners and convey USDA’s plans and goals to better serve ag producers.

“An effective working relationship between the AIPs and USDA is fundamental to the success of the Federal crop insurance program,” Tom Zacharias, President of NCIS, said at our meeting. “We appreciate USDA and the Risk Management Agency’s professionalism and the experience of your team as we work together to improve the program.”

Partnerships with the private sector are key to supporting rural America with quality insurance for farmers and ranchers. USDA expands opportunities for insurance coverage by creating, approving, and improving more policies, while AIPs provide first-rate service to our nation’s producers. This successful system has grown the national safety net exponentially.

Consider this prime example of how public-private partnerships lead to great achievements. For years, livestock producers sought good insurance coverage and now purchase popular policies like Dairy Revenue Protection (first made available in 2019). In 2021, producers bought more than $14 billion worth of livestock coverage. This year, ranchers and dairies currently hold policies safeguarding more than $31 billion in commodities!  

USDA wants to ensure crop insurance is viable for generations to come and future farmers continue producing the food, fiber, and fuel that America runs on. Our partnerships with private industry are crucial to success.

More Information

Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available online at the RMA Agent Locator. Producers can learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov or by contacting their RMA Regional Office. RMA’s Basics for Beginners provides information for those new to crop insurance.  

Pat Swanson is the Administrator of USDA’s Risk Management Agency.