Ag Alert April 21, 2021

Insurance Continued from Page 1

ceivedunanimoussupport fromtheSenate Insurance Committee earlier this month, andnext advances to the full Senate. “TheFAIRPlan isn’t the long-termsolu- tion or a substitute for farmers’ insurance issues, but does address themost pressing need,” Johansson said. Because the FAIR Plan provides only the most-basic coverage, he said, farm- ers and ranchers would still need sup- plemental coverage once they qualify for FAIR Plan policies. “As a result of the FarmBureau partner- ship with Nationwide,” Johansson said, “we were able toworkwithNationwide to determine how to fill in the gaps of what a FAIRPlan policywould offer.” Following approval from the California Department of Insurance, Nationwide has begunofferingwhat’sknownasa“difference inconditions”orDICpolicyfor farmersand rancherswhoqualifyforFAIRPlancoverage. EmilyBerrier,NationwideAgribusiness associate vice president of farm under- writing, said Nationwide is the first farm- and-ranch carrier to offer the DIC cover- age in California. “When a farmer or rancher obtains coverage with the California FAIR Plan, they can then work with a Nationwide- appointed insurance agent to submit an application for a difference in conditions policy,” Berrier said. “The FAIR Plan and difference inconditionspolicies thenwork together to provide coverages typically of-

fered under a Farmowners policy.” She said Nationwide “worked hand in hand”withFarmBureautodesignthecov- erage and gain state approval. “Thiswasa joint effortaimedat ensuring theneeds of farmers aremet,”Berrier said. Ina relateddevelopment, FarmBureau welcomed a notice from state Insurance Commissioner RicardoLara, directing in- surance companies toprovidedata about the availability of commercial coverage for farms, ranches and a variety of agri- cultural businesses. Given the number of farmers and ranchers who have reported difficulty in purchasingwildfire insurance, Johansson said, the commissioner’s action “should help us determine the breadth and depth of the problem.” Lara directed insurance companies to provide data about the availability of com- mercial insurance forbusinesses including farms, ranches, timber harvesting opera- tions, wineries, cotton gins and other agri-

culturalbusinesses.Hegavethecompanies until June 14 to submit the information. In an open letter to business owners, Lara said the requested data would in- clude “thenumber of commercial policies writtenandnon-renewedsince January1, 2017, in order to gauge the impact of four successive fire seasons on commercial in- surance coverage in our state.” He said he had also directed insur- ance companies to provide “any new or recently revisedwildfire underwriting re- strictions that they intend to implement that would affect this critical sector of California’s economy.” Johansson said FarmBureau has been working with Lara and insurance compa- nies to“stabilize the insurancemarket” for California farms and ranches. “We believe the commissioner’s action will helpusmove towarda long-termsolu- tion,” he said. (DaveKranz is editor of AgAlert.Hemay be contacted at dkranz@cfbf.com.)

resort, the California FAIR Plan, to under- write insurance coverage for commercial farms and ranches. The FAIRPlan—FAIR is anacronymfor Fair Access to Insurance Requirements— provides basic property insurance for customers who have found themselves unable to acquire coverage in the open insurancemarket. Robert Spiegel, a California Farm Bureau policy advocate, said that unlike homeownersandother commercial prop- erty owners, farming and ranching opera- tions don’t have access to basic property insurance provided by the FAIRPlan. “If a farmer is unable to find insurance on the private market and lives on the farm, the FAIR Plan is only authorized to underwritecoverageonthehome,”Spiegel said. “That’sabigproblem, and that’swhat we’re trying to fix.” Under current circumstances, farmers andranchersunable topurchasecoverage on theopenmarket—and ineligible for the FAIRPlan—couldbe leftwithout coverage for barns, other outbuildings, equipment and other property needed for agricultur- al production. In turn, Spiegel said, that could leave them unable to qualify for creditneededtooperate the farmor ranch. SB 11 would correct the exclusion by providing FAIR Plan insurance for agri- cultural property used in production of an agricultural commodity.The legislationre-

New agritourism coordinator named With a background in urban farming and local food systems, Rachael Callahan will become statewide agritourismcoor- dinator for the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. nizations promoting urban farming and food security inWashington, D.C.; build- ing a local food system on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts; and promot- ing sustainable agroforestry techniques in Belize.

Callahanwill succeed Penny Leff, who announced her retirement via the pro- gram’s email newsletter. In an introductory message, Callahan said she has worked for nonprofit orga-

Ineachrole, Callahansaid, shehas seen “the power of direct farmer-public inter- actions through agritourism to provide resiliency to farmers, inspire and educate the public, and connect the community.”

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Agricultural Market Review Quotations are the latest available for the week ending April 16, 2021 Year Ago Week Ago Latest Week Livestock Slaughter Steers – 5-Area Average Select & Choice, 1050–1150 lbs., $ per cwt. 105 114-117 118-123 Hogs – Average hog, 51-52% lean, Iowa-Minn. market, $ per cwt. 42.89 101.06 101.96 Slaughter Lambs – $ per cwt. 125–175 lbs. National weekly live sales No Quote 170-250 175-191 Field crops – basis prompt shipment Barley – U.S. No. 2, $ per cwt. Truck, Stockton-Modesto-Oakdale-Turlock 9 (Kings-Fresno) 11.25 11.50-11.75 Cotton – ¢ per lb., Middling 1 3/32” Fresno spot market 56.61 78.20 77.99 Corn – U.S. No. 2 yellow $ per cwt. trucked 8.35 7.25 7.39 Alfalfa Hay – $ per ton, quality*, FOB Region 1, Northern Inter-mountain 280 (orchard grass) 220 (P) 180 (brome grass) Region 2, Sacramento Valley 280 (P) 260 (S) 250-260 (S) Region 3, Northern San Joaquin Valley 260 (S) 270-300 (S) 260-285 (P/S) Region 4, Central San Joaquin Valley No Quote No Quote No Quote Region 5, Southern California 279 (P) 259 (P) 259 (P) Region 6, Southeast Interior 200-220 (P/S) 205-225 (P/S) 215-225 (P/S) Oat Hay – $ per ton, quality*, FOB Northern California, dairy No Quote No Quote No Quote Oats – U.S. No. 2 white, $ per cwt. Statewide, trucked price No Quote No Quote No Quote

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Dry Beans – Grower FOB prices Baby Limas, $ per cwt, (sacked) Large Limas, $ per cwt. (sacked) Blackeye, $ per cwt. (sacked)

No Quote No Quote No Quote

Rice – Milled No. 1 Head, FOB No. Calif. mills Medium grain, $ per cwt. Wheat – U.S. No. 2 or better, winter, $ per cwt. 13% protein, Los Angeles, trucked price

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No Quote 11.75 (No. 1) Provided by the California Farm Bureau as a service to Farm Bureau members. Information supplied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market News Branch. * ADF=Acid detergent fiber; (S) = Supreme/<27%ADF; (P) = Premium/27-29; (G) = Good/29-32; (F) = Fair/32-35. 11.40 (No. 1)

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16 Ag Alert April 21, 2021