Agricultural Economics, Department of
Center for Agricultural Profitability
Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Insurance: Trends, Takeaways, and Sign-Up for 2026 Coverage
Date of this Version
11-6-2025
Document Type
Article
Citation
Parsons, J., Hewlett, J., Tranel, J, Dennis, E. “Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Insurance: Trends, Takeaways, and Sign-Up for 2026 Coverage” CAP Series 25-11-01, Center for Agricultural Profitability, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nov. 6, 2025. DOI: 10.32873/unl.dc.cap082.
Abstract
The sign-up deadline for Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) insurance coverage in calendar year 2026 is December 1, 2025. PRF insurance is a rainfall index insurance policy based on precipitation data in grids of 0.25 degrees longitude by 0.25 degrees latitude. The data is provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center (NOAA CPC) and dates back over 70 years. The last decade has seen strong growth in the use of PRF as livestock producers across the country who depend on perennial grass production have used it to manage the risk of drought.
In 2024, producers insured over 296 million acres with PRF insurance across the nation (Table 1). Over the past six years, since 2019, the number of PRF policies, acres covered, and total premiums paid have more than doubled. PRF has evolved into a regular part of annual business activities for many livestock producers with perennial grass pasture and rangeland. Over those six years, the average number of acres covered per policy was 4,812 with the average producer premium per policy of $9,985 or $2.08 per acre. Ninety-two percent of policies earning premium also earned an indemnity payment, with the average indemnity per policy of $21,854 or $4.54 per acre. This results in a producer loss ratio of 2.19, meaning that for every $1 in producer premiums, about $2.19 were paid on average (producer loss ratio = producer indemnities ÷ producer-paid premiums).