Monsanto Offers Low-Risk Premiums
December 18, 2007 Some corn growers who use Monsanto Advanced Technology will be eligilble for lower risk insurance premiums.
Farmers in four pilot states who plant a majority of their corn acres using hybrid seeds that feature YieldGard Plus with Roundup Ready Corn 2 or YieldGard VT Triple technology from Monsanto Co. will be able to lower their crop insurance premiums in 2008.
USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) will implement the Biotech Yield Endorsement, or BYE, in time for the 2008 crop year. BYE is an innovative crop insurance feature that will lower insurance premiums for non-irrigated corn producers in the pilot states and is available to be offered by all approved insurance providers.
The pilot will initially be available in four states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota with potential expansion to other states depending on results from the pilot program. Presently, only Monsanto’s YieldGard triple-stack technologies are approved for the BYE program.
The BYE — co-sponsored by Monsanto and Western Agricultural Insurance Co. — is a new crop insurance feature that lowers premiums for non-irrigated corn producers. The average cost of a total policy premium will be reduced by approximately 14% on revenue assurance policies, such as Actual Production History, Revenue Assurance, and Crop Production Coverage. On average, this discount will amount to more than $2 per acre on the grower-paid portion of the premium.
To be eligible, growers must plant at least 75% of their corn acres on an insured unit basis to corn hybrids containing YieldGard VT Triple or YieldGard Plus with Roundup Ready Corn 2 technologies. EPA-mandated refuge requirements must also be respected.
The YieldGard triple-stack technologies are widely available to growers and can be purchased through more than 250 corn seed companies that license the technologies.
In 2007, there were more than 90 million acres of corn planted in the U.S., the largest corn crop since 1944. According to 2006 harvest statistics provided by the National Corn Growers Association, the four BYE pilot states accounted for more than 50% of the corn acres harvested for grain in the U.S.
Program details regarding BYE will be released and available on the RMA Web site at www.rma.usda.gov, in the near future. Producers interested in BYE should contact their local crop insurance representative.
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