The Iowa Organic Association is partnering with the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) for a two-part workshop on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 at the Eastern Davenport Library located at 6000 Eastern Avenue.  The workshop will focus on Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) program, Micro Farm program, the newly implemented Transitional and Organic Grower Assistance (TOGA) program, and other crop insurance options for organic producers.  RSVP below. 

• A morning workshop (9 a.m. - 12 p.m.) has been coordinated for agents, advisors and consultants. 
• An afternoon session has been coordinated for producers (1 p.m. - 4 p.m.).
• RMA Organic Crops webpage

WFRP provides a risk management safety net for all commodities on the farm under one insurance policy and is available in all counties nationwide. This insurance plan is tailored for any farm with up to $17 million in insured revenue, including farms with specialty or organic commodities (both crops and livestock), or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identity preserved, specialty, or direct markets.

The Micro Farm Program improves upon WFRP for smaller producers. Similar to WFRP, it provides a risk management safety net for all commodities on your farm under one insurance policy but with streamlined reporting requirements. This insurance plan is tailored for any farm with up to $350,000 in approved revenue, including farms with specialty or organic commodities (both crops and livestock), or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identity preserved, specialty, or direct markets.

The Transitional and Organic Grower Assistance (TOGA) program to agricultural producers who have crop insurance coverage on crops in transition to organic or certified organic grain and feed crops. TOGA provides premium assistance to producers who insure their crop during the 2023 reinsurance year. Eligible producers will receive a discount on their premium billing statement:

• For crops in transition to certified organic, producers can receive 10 percentage points of premium subsidy;
• For certified organic grain and feed crops, producers can receive $5 premium assistance per insured acre; and
• For Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) policies with crops in transition or certified organic crops, producers can receive 10 percentage points of premium subsidy. In addition to the WFRP benefit, producers who have additional individual crop insurance policies will also receive the applicable premium benefit on those policies.

AGENDA

9:00 a.m. - Introductions

• Olga Reding, IOA Education & Outreach Coordinator

9:30 a.m. - RMA: Whole Farm Revenue Protection & Micro-Farm programs

• Griffin Schnitzler, Risk Management Specialist with USDA RMA; Works in the Product Management division of the agency.
• Lane Webb, subject matter expert on WFRP; Risk Management Specialist with USDA RMA; Works in the Product Management division of the agency.

10:30 a.m. - RMA: Crop Insurance Update & Transitional and Organic Grower Assistance (TOGA) program

• Michael Greene, USDA RMA Risk Management Specialist of St. Paul Regional Office

11:30 a.m. - Questions & Discussion

Please RSVP below to be part of this in-person training. CEUs are available for this workshop. 

You can participate virtually through this link: WFRP Road Show Event for Agents & Consultants.

Funder Acknowledgment: This material is based upon work that is supported by the Risk Management Agency (RMA), U.S. Department of Agriculture, under the program agreement with the project number 15061 titled "Risk Management Outreach and Education for Beginning, Transitioning and Organic Producers". RMA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the RMA and U.S. Department of Agriculture.