RMA Expands Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Insurance
RMA Expands Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Insurance
Availability for 2011 Crop Year and Moves up Sales Closing Dates
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, Aug 16, 2010 —- USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announces the expansion of the Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage (PRF) plan of insurance into all counties in Idaho and Oregon and several enhancements made to its Vegetation Index (VI) program for the 2011 crop year. The PRF program was previously only available in selected counties in Idaho and Oregon.
“We are pleased to extend availability of the PRF plan of insurance to more producers in Idaho and Oregon, said RMA’s Spokane Regional Director Dave Paul. “RMA encourages producers, particularly those grazing livestock, to contact a local crop insurance agent to learn more about availability and program enhancements.”
PRF is an area risk policy covering livestock grazing and forage land, and for Idaho and Oregon it is based on a Vegetation Index (VI) using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data from USGS EROS. The NDVI is an alternative measure of vegetation greenness and correlates to vegetation conditions and productive capacity. Plants that are not stressed generally have a higher NDVI value. Losses calculated using the Vegetation Index are also indemnified based on the deviation from normal.
Enhancements to the VI-PRF and the VI-Apiculture plans of insurance include removing the temperature constraint component from the United States Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science (USGS EROS) data set. RMA determined the temperature constraint added complexity to the index with minimal benefits. To compensate for removal of the temperature constraint, RMA added a total loss factor, representing the level of loss at which the maximum indemnity amount (a 100-percent payment) is payable.
Paul added, “RMA advises producers of earlier sales closing date for PRF and Apiculture, our Honey VI program from November 30 to September 30, 2010 for the 2011 crop year.”
Producers are encouraged to visit with their crop insurance agent prior to Thursday, September 30, 2010 for Pasture, Rangeland, Forage and Apiculture (Honey). Federal crop insurance program policies are sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance companies and agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers throughout the United States or on the RMA Web site at http://www3.rma.usda.gov/tools/agents.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
2010 Onondaga County 4-H Youth Fair
A successful 2010 4-H Youth Fair for Onondaga County was held on Friday, July 30th through Sunday, August 1st, at the New York State Fairgrounds. This annual event offered our 4-H youth the opportunity to compete for an opportunity to represent Onondaga County at the New York State Fair.
Approximately 85 4-H youth entered dairy, horse, dog and arts & crafts competitions. The co-hosted On-Wego Holstein Show and Onondaga County 4-H Dairy Show took center stage Friday in the Cattle Barn with 16 4-H youth exhibiting 27 cows. An informal and fun Dog Show ran Friday evening and our 4-H Horse Show followed on Saturday and Sunday in the Coliseum. This competition showcased 63 4-H English and Western riders, and the Arts & Crafts Show displayed hand crafted items throughout the weekend.
Invasive Insects Spreading in New York State
Emerald Ash Borer has been confirmed in several new counties this summer – Steuben, Monroe, Livingston, Genesee, Greene and Ulster counties thus far this summer (in addition to Cattaragus summer 2009). The US Dept of Agriculture and NYS Dept of Ag and Markets are asking for volunteer citizen surveyors to assist in checking trees for infestations.
Join the USDA, NYS Dept or Ag, and Cornell University Cooperative Extension’s efforts against the Emerald Ash Borer and Asian Longhorn Beetle from spreading further in New York State by becoming a citizen volunteer. You can check out trees in your own backyard, the neighborhood, park, forests etc and report your findings online – might make a great group activity. Check out http://beetledetectives.com/ for fact sheets, reporting guidance etc. (There is even a competition for the number of reports made by state and entity). For more information, view this letter for citizen volunteers.
CNY Central Covers A Different Shade of Green
Brandon Roth, from news channel CNY Central, visited the Different Shade of Greenprogram and spoke with CCE Onondaga staff member David Marr about the green-focused, workforce readiness program. The segment aired during CNY Central’s evening newscast on Monday, August 9, 2010. Click here to view the coverage.
Rain Barrel Building Instructor’s Training
On July 31st CCE Onondaga trained 25 citizens to be Rain Barrel Building Instructors. Each instructor will be training at least 10 others to build rain barrels for Water Quality Awareness Weekend September 25 -26. We received support from Onondaga County Department of Environmental Health and Save the Rain.
