Case Study – Erin and Kevin Dasher

Erin and Kevin Dasher, owners of Rock & D², manage a diversified operation in North Florida. Kevin is a fourth generation to the family farm in Live Oak, and Erin is a fifth generation to her family’s cattle and hay operation in Gilchrest County. Kevin explained, “I’ve lived here my whole life. We used to be a tobacco farm, and we’ve transitioned over to more row crops and custom business and added cattle.” He continued, “When me and Erin got married, we established the brand Rock & D². And since then, we’ve continued to grow.”

Kevin and Erin do not intend to stop growing the forage and cattle side of the farm anytime soon. “Operational goals here that we plan on expanding some of the pasture and being able to add more cross fencing to do some more rotational grazing to increase our cattle operation…in the next 3 to 4 years.”

Managing a cattle operation involves managing forage availability for cattle both through grazing management and produced or purchased hay. Cattle producers like Kevin and Erin depend heavily on rainfall for forage and hay production. In dry spells, Kevin and Erin have to make decisions to make sure cattle are still fed that can become costly. “When it’s dry, we are limited on how many cattle we can put on a field per acre. So, when it’s dry, we have to feed a lot more hay… make sure there’s plenty for them to eat.” They cited a recent example saying, “This past spring, we fed hay all the way up into May, which is not a normal year.”

Kevin and Erin utilize Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Insurance (PRF Insurance) to help mitigate the risk of having to compensate for limited forages due to a lack of rainfall. “So, with the added cost of more feeds and more hay, that was a big weighing factor on enrolling into the PRF program, to help cut a lot of the risk out and help with the cost of those added expenses.”

Erin first learned about PRF Insurance from a fellow cattle producer and was able to learn more about it at an industry tradeshow event. “After visiting with the agent and knowing that they were also involved in the agricultural industry, it made it very easy to take their information home and make those decisions and make them fit to our operation…questions were answered very easily, they were just a phone call away. The enrollment process was super simple…it just all tied together to fit our operation.”

Erin and Kevin were also pleased with how they did not have to enroll all of their acreage. They could start small and build up, just like they intend to do with the operation as a whole. “At the time, I had 28 acres of a hay field… my dad also has about 115 acres in grazing operations… we [were] offered the opportunity to enroll the 28 acres into the program just to give it a try…if everything worked out, then we would move into the grazing.”

Being enrolled in the program for three years now, Erin and Kevin have increased the amount of acreage they have enrolled in PRF Insurance. “We have actually worked it up into having my dad’s acreage and grazing, as well as the farm here that my husband and I have is also in grazing.” With the goal of growing their operation and continuing to expand, they saw PRF Insurance “as an opportunity to grow our operation and minimize our risk. Especially on the focus of our hay and our grazing operations.”

Working with the insurance agent helped Erin and Kevin make the decisions of when to insure the acreage. “They [the insurance company] actually have a system in place that they’ll pull the targeted rainfall for like the last 20 years to see, historically, where [and when rainfall on] your operation falls.” Looking at the rainfall data along with knowing which months are typically a dryer season on their operation, Erin and Kevin were able to choose appropriate intervals. “…picking intervals becomes [a] really easy process when you actually have that data set and information to base your analysis off of.”

For Kevin and Erin, a key benefit for Rock & D² in utilizing PRF Insurance is the return on investment. They have been able to use the indemnity payments to offset increased feed costs in dry years. “We’ve actually [received] indemnity [payments] to put back into our operation and help us with supplementation during those months of a dry period.”

Additionally, enrollment in PRF Insurance has aided in the growth and sustainability of Rock & D². “PRF insurance has helped us with our operation to be able to mitigate our risk and be able to give us a return back into our operation. And it’s allowed us to invest in other areas of the operation without having to specifically dip into our cash flow. It gave us a supplemental indemnity to be able to help us with our operation.”