Crop Insurance Updates

Updates (as of August 22, 2025)

1. New Enhancements from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)

• The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) has implemented sweeping changes following the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4, 2025. These enhancements aim to make crop insurance more accessible and affordable:
  
  

  • Beginning farmers and ranchers now receive markedly higher premium subsidies:
    
    

    • +15 percentage points for crop years 1–2
      
      

    • +13 points in year 3
      
      

    • +11 points in year 4
      
      

    • +10 points in years 5–10
      These are on top of existing base subsidies and administrative fee waivers rma.usda.gov.
      
      

  • Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP): coverage increased from 85% to 90% rma.usda.gov.
    
    

  • Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO): subsidy boosted from 65% to 80%, and accessible regardless of ARC election. Coverage levels have expanded to 90% via the new ECO product for 2026 rma.usda.gov.
    
    

  • Other area-based options like Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO), Margin Coverage Option (MCO), Hurricane Insurance Protection Wind Index (HIP-WI), and Fire Insurance Protection Smoke Index (FIP-SI) also now benefit from the 80% premium support rma.usda.gov.
    
    

2. Shifts in ECO Adoption

• With increased subsidies (now 65% for ECO), usage of ECO has surged—primary insured acres under ECO jumped from 6% in 2024 to 23% in 2025, more than tripling for most major field crops (excluding rice) farmdoc daily.
  
  

3. Price and Premium Trends for 2025

• Price discovery period concluded February 28, 2025, for policies with a March 15 sales closing date. Projected prices:
  
  

  • Corn: $4.70 per bushel (slight increase over 2024’s $4.66)
    
    

  • Soybeans: $10.54 (down from 2024’s $11.55) ProAg.
    
    

• Consequently:
  
  

  • Corn premiums remain roughly level year-over-year.
    
    

  • Soybean premiums are lower ProAg.
    
    

• Thanks to increased premium support, especially ECO, farmer-paid ECO premiums dropped significantly—a ~37% reduction for ECO coverage from 86% to 95% in McLean County, IL ($28.52 → $17.86 per acre)farmdoc daily.
  
  

4. Regulatory Happenings

• Several notable Federal Register actions by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation in 2025 include:
  
  

  • Flax Revenue and Expanded Unit Options rule in February
    
    

  • Removal of Obsolete Regulations in August
    
    

  • A July rule removing unconstitutional preferences based on race and sex Federal Register.
    
    

Upcoming & Current Deadlines

A. Sales Closing Dates

• September 1, 2025
  
  

• September 30, 2025
  These apply to fall-planted crops; producers should consult their agents or use the RMA’s Actuarial Information Browser or Map Viewer for specific county-crop-date detailsrma.usda.gov+1.
  
  

Additional general deadlines from COUNTRY Financial include:

• March 15: Spring-seeded crops & WFRP
  
  

• September 30: Fall-seeded crops & Margin Protection Plan for Spring Crops countryfinancial.com.
  
  

B. Acreage Reporting

• July 15, 2025 is the major acreage reporting deadline for most crops. However, producers should verify their county-specific dates with their local FSA office Farm Service Agency.
  
  

• For crops planted after the deadline, reports are allowed within 15 calendar days after planting. Additional acreage acquired must be reported within 30 days Farm Service Agency.
  
  

C. Price Discovery (Passed)

• The federal price discovery window closed February 28, 2025, relevant for spring crop insurance decisions ProAg.