USDA’s Risk Management Agency Celebrates 30 Years of Service to American Agriculture

USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) was created on April 4, 1996, to help secure the future of agriculture by providing world class risk management options to rural America.

Today, we’re celebrating RMA’s 30 years of service to America’s agricultural producers through effective, market-based risk management tools to strengthen the economic stability of agricultural producers and rural communities.

I know how vital these tools are to farmers and ranchers. I’m a sixth-generation farmer myself and have served as a crop insurance agent for over 20 years in Southeast Iowa. I’ve seen crop insurance work where it matters most – on the farm. In good years, it’s a safety net. In tough years, it can be the difference between a farmer staying in business or being forced out. Risk management through crop insurance helps farmers recover from losses and gives lenders the assurance needed to provide operating credit for the next season.

While our agency was established in 1996, our roots trace back to the 1930s to help the nation’s agricultural industry recover from the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. The Federal crop insurance program has grown significantly since then, with the creation of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) in 1938, leading up to the creation of RMA to administer FCIC programs to support the American agriculture industry.

Through a public-private partnership with RMA, Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) sell and service Federal crop insurance policies in every state and in Puerto Rico. The federal crop insurance program currently offers 42 plans of insurance, covering 138 commodities and crops.

In crop year 2025 alone, more than 1.3 million policies were sold to insure crops and livestock valued at more than $199.5 billion and across 561 million acres.

Putting Farmers First

Under the Trump Administration, RMA has made significant strides to improve and streamline Federal crop insurance options for American agricultural producers. 

Following the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on July 4, 2025, RMA rapidly began implementation to deliver these historic improvements to federal crop insurance programs that put American farmers first. Through the enhancements from OBBBA, we are significantly expanding support for beginning farmers and ranchers, increasing coverage options, and making crop insurance more affordable and accessible across multiple insurance programs. Through RMA’s work, producers are able to make more informed risk management decisions for their policies. 

RMA approved changes to expand and streamline multiple crop insurance programs to help American producers manage their risk effectively. These changes include the implementation of the Quality Loss Option on additional crop insurance programs and enhancements to livestock programs, such as the Livestock Risk Protection, Livestock Gross Margin, and Dairy Revenue Protection. Additionally, the expansion of the Margin Coverage Option crop insurance endorsement for corn, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans and spring wheat in select states, provides growers with area-based coverage against an unexpected decrease in operating margin (revenue minus input costs) caused by reduced county yields, reduced commodity prices, or increased prices of certain inputs. 

Among these improvements, we’re also working to expand coverage options for specialty crops to ensure America’s diverse specialty crop producers have access to the risk management tools they need to thrive.

To support AIPs and crop insurance agents, RMA made a one-time, congressionally mandated payment to AIPs administering eligible crop insurance contracts for 2022 and 2023 reinsurance year specialty crops through Additional Payment Program II. The total funding available was $30 million and was distributed to AIPs proportionally. AIPs and crop insurance agents are on the front lines of delivering crop insurance to our American farmers and ranchers, and this additional payment recognized their efforts and commitment to continue to provide first-class customer service for American farmers.  

We also launched the Crop and Livestock Income Protection (CLIP) program, an innovative insurance product that provides affordable umbrella coverage for producers with diversified operations. Available for the 2026 crop year, CLIP puts American farmers first by offering a cost-effective way to increase overall coverage while recognizing the risk management benefits of agricultural diversification. 

Additionally, we are streamlining crop insurance regulations to reduce administrative burdens and expand access for producers beginning with the 2026 crop year through Expanding Access to Risk Protection, which will remove unnecessary requirements, modernize policies and clarify coverage options across multiple crops. These changes respond directly to producer and industry feedback calling for simplified regulations that better reflect the realities of those in the business of agriculture. 

We’ve come a long way over the past 30 years, and over the last year especially. More recently, USDA launched the “One Farmer, One File” initiative to create a single, streamlined record that follows the farmer in the USDA system no matter where they go. The goal of “One Farmer, One File” is to reduce the administrative burden for farmers. 

Since our inception, RMA has been steadfast in our commitment to increasing the availability and effectiveness of Federal crop insurance as a risk management tool. We are dedicated to that mission now more than ever, and I look forward to seeing where we go next. 

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.