WASHINGTON, D.C. — The USDA announced late last month it is expanding the availability of a different kind of farm insurance policy called Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP).

It also announced it is making other changes to the program, meant to make the insurance easier for which to qualify.

"Whole Farm Revenue Protection insurance allows producers who have previously had limited access to a risk management safety net, to insure all of the commodities on their farm at once instead of one commodity at a time," said Deputy Assistant USDA Secretary Krysta Harden.

"That gives them the option of embracing more crop diversity on their farm and helps support the production of a wider variety of foods." Harden made the announcement Aug. 27.

There have been real problems getting certain kinds of crops insured, said Paul Wolfe, a spokesman for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC).

An insurance policy for strawberries has only been available in four states and policies for green beans have only been available in three, to cite just two examples.

According to Wolfe, that’s because the Risk Management Agency (RMA), an arm of USDA that administers the federal crop insurance program, has to develop numbers for insurance carriers to use – and there has to be a certain amount of a crop in a given state in order for that to happen.

But with WFRP, the fact that not that many people are growing a particular crop doesn’t really matter. WFRP insurance policies are based on revenue, not on an individual crop. NSAC, a not-for-profit, advocates for small, diverse direct-marketing and organic farms.

In NSAC’s announcement of the changes, the group said it lobbied hard for many that were ultimately made to the federally subsidized insurance program. WFRP started just this year as a pilot program and was authorized by the 2014 farm bill.

WFRP was available in most counties of the United States this year; starting with the 2016 insurance year, however, the new program will be available everywhere, a first for the federal crop insurance program.

Wolfe said 1,300 WFRP policies were sold for the 2015 insurance year, representing a 20 percent increase compared to a predecessor program offered by the federal government. NSAC "sees that as a good sign," he said.

Other changes announced on Aug. 27 include RMA making it easier for more beginning farmers and ranchers to participate in the program by reducing the records requirement from five to three historical years, plus farming records from the past year. In addition, any beginning farmer and rancher may qualify by using the former farm operator’s federal farm tax records if the beginning farmer or rancher assumes at least 90 percent of the farm operation.

For livestock producers, RMA has removed the previous cap that limited participants who received 35 percent or less of their income from livestock production. Producers will now be able to insure up to $1 million worth of animals and animal products.

For those with expanding operations, RMA has increased the cap on historical revenue to 35 percent from its previous 10 percent, to better allow growing farms the opportunity to cover their growth in the insurance guarantee.

For additional information about WFRP, visit www.rma.usda.gov/policies/wfrp.html

Crop insurance is sold and delivered only through private sector crop insurance agents, who must be approved by RMA. RMA’s approved agent locator tool is available online at www.rma.usda.gov/tools/agent.html