LUBBOCK, TX (RFD NEWS) — Livestock and dairy producers will see updates to several USDA insurance tools beginning with the 2027 crop year. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) says changes are coming to Livestock Risk Protection, Livestock Gross Margin, and Dairy Revenue Protection.
The updates include common policy changes across the three programs, including revised beginning farmer and rancher definitions, updated subsidy percentages, and permission for concurrent coverage between similar livestock programs. RMA says the changes are meant to expand options and improve consistency.
Livestock Risk Protection will add more flexibility for forage disaster exemptions, extend cull cow coverage to 52 weeks, and add new unborn feeder cattle types. LRP helps protect against declining livestock market prices.
Livestock Gross Margin changes raise insurable weight limits for cattle and update target feeder and live cattle weight rules. Dairy Revenue Protection will move its sales period end date to match other livestock insurance programs.
Producers should review the changes with a crop insurance agent before the 2027 crop year.
Farm-Level Takeaway: Updated livestock insurance rules may give cattle, swine, and dairy producers more flexibility to manage price and margin risk.
Tony St. James, RFD News Markets Specialist
Student Katelyn Lindsay is traveling the country to support growers and connect consumers to the crop.
Nebraska cattle rancher Joe Van Newkirk joins us to discuss wildfire recovery in Nebraska’s Sandhills athe challenges ranchers face restoring basic infrastructure after the fire.
The spending bill keeps animal health and traceability funding in place while trimming several other USDA accounts.
In an exclusive interview with RFD News correspondent Frank McCaffrey, Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX) expresses frustration with delays and increasing political divisions surrounding the bill.
The question of whether a traditional, multi-year Farm Bill is a constitutional necessity or merely an outdated artifact of legislative compromise — as opposed to a model of targeted reconciliation and ad hoc assistance — is one of the most critical debates in current agricultural policy.
New farm payment rules allow LLC members to have separate limits, but some local FSA offices are still applying outdated policies, creating confusion for producers.
