The Annual Forage program is designed to insure against a decline in an index value that is based on the long-term historical average precipitation for the same area for the same period.

You must plant acres annually in order to be eligible for AF coverage. However, you do not need to insure 100% of the planted acres of an annual forage crop to be eligible for coverage. AF coverage is available at six different coverage levels, and the insured party is the user of the acreage, either by land ownership or by lease.

You must sign up by July 15 to be eligible for this type of coverage, which is currently offered in:

• Colorado
• Nebraska
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Kansas
• New Mexico
• North Dakota
• Texas

Note: Annual Forage coverage is not drought insurance and does not insure against abnormally high temperatures or windy conditions.

Annual Forage coverage is divided across 12 growing seasons, also known as insurance periods, which are determined by the dates the acres were planted. You can divide your liability into two-month index intervals targeting the timeframe in which precipitation is most important for the crop being planted.

Not all growing seasons are available across all states. For example:

• December and January are not available in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska.
• December, January and February are not available in North Dakota and South Dakota.

Similar to the 12 available growing seasons, there are also 12 acreage reporting dates. Acreage Reporting dates are based on planting months; producer acreage reports are due the 5th of the month following the planting month. Acreage reports must be submitted by the due date to have coverage for the particular growing season.

For more information about growing season eligibility, acreage reporting dates and other coverage details, contact a Momentum Ag agent.

Annual Forage coverage also offers a Dual Use Option. If you are a small grain producer you can insure under Annual Forage for grazing in the winter/early spring and then insure your grain crop with a separate MPCI policy while remaining eligible to maintain both benefits.

The Dual Use Option is available in counties where grain/grazing is considered a good farming practice, which includes select counties in:

• Colorado
• Nebraska
• Oklahoma
• Kansas
• New Mexico
• Texas

Dual use option is only available for Growing Seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4, which includes index intervals. The option is primarily utilized to cover wheat, but some counties also include barley and oat coverage. Your Momentum Ag agent can check the Annual Forage and small grains special provisions of insurance for more details.

After your selected two-month interval ends, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency will release a Final Grid Index value representing how much precipitation was recorded for the Grid to compare against your coverage level.

Each grid covers an area equal to .25° latitude x .25° longitude. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) creates these grids, which do not follow state, county or national boundaries. Each grid is individually rated based on the data for that grid. (For example, in the middle of the country the area in a grid equates to about 150,000 acres or a 15×15 mile square. In North Dakota, the grid narrows to about 130,000 acres and in South Texas stretches up to about 196,000 acres.)

There is no loss adjustment. If there is a loss, the indemnity is automatically calculated and then paid.