(USDA) – The USDA is expanding insurance coverage options for specialty crops and other actual production history crop programs.

Through the Risk Management Agency, it will expand the availability of enterprise units to crops where they were previously not available, giving agriculture producers greater options to manage risk. An enterprise unit allows a producer to insure all acres of the insured crop in the county together, as opposed to other unit structures that separate the acreage for insurance. Enterprise units are beneficial because of the lower premium rates offered to recognize the lower risk associated with geographic diversification.

In general, the larger the enterprise unit, the lesser the risk and the greater the enterprise discount. “This expansion gives producers more choices on how they can protect themselves,” says RMA Administrator Marcia Bunger. Several crops will have enterprise units available next year, including alfalfa seed, cultivated wild rice, forage production, onions, and others.