Listening Sessions - Summer 2023 Apple Grower Meetings

Attend an in-person listening session with USDA RMA to give your feedback on proposed changes to the Apple Crop Insurance Program; no RSVP required.  

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) is inviting interested parties to participate in a listening session to discuss the proposed changes to the apple crop insurance program. These proposed changes were published in a Proposed Rule on December 16, 2021.

RMA invited public comments on this rule through April 15, 2022. RMA received comments to the Proposed Rule from approximately 200 interested parties. RMA is taking this opportunity to engage with interested parties to clarify the intent of the Proposed Rule before finalizing changes.

RMA is proposing to make changes to the apple crop insurance program that:

• Enable producers to elect different coverage levels and percent of price elections by type, which allows producers to manage individual coverage and price risk more effectively.
• Allow producers' premiums to be reduced in response to orchard management practices, such as removing or grafting trees, that typically occur after the acreage reporting date and decrease an orchard's productivity.
• Allow producers to insure at a higher price for apples sold predominantly to direct markets or premium processing markets.
• Exclude apples sold for the slicer market from being considered "fresh apple production."
• Introduce a fresh fruit factor to account for the reduced market value of production insured under the Quality Option sold for a grade other than U.S. Fancy.