PRF Glossary

Acreage Reporting:  The Report of Acreage form (FSA-578) is used to file the acreage report with the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA).  Verifiable and accurate records must be provided that include total acreage of the crop, your share, irrigated practice, intended use, organic practice, longitude and latitude of the field, Grid ID, and a land identifier such as FSA farm tract, field numbers, common land unit, or RMA resource land unit. This must be filed by the acreage reporting date.

Actual Index Value: See Final Grid Index

AD 1026 with Farm Service Agency:  Verification form complying with conservation practices. Enrollment forms received through crop insurance agent.

Base Value: A per-acre value of the crop set by the USDA. This varies by county, intended use, and production practice.

Coverage Level: Percent of expected rainfall index for which PRF insurance pays an indemnity. Higher coverage levels receive a smaller premium subsidy percent. * Note: Scale of 70-90% in increments of 5%. *

Contiguous Acreage: Acreage that continues into another state, county, or grid without interruption.

Dollar Amount of Protection: Theamount of insurance protection as determined by the county base value, and the selected insurable interest, coverage level, and productivity factor.

Expected Grid Index: Theaverage precipitation for a given grid ID during a specific index interval based on data from 1948 to two years prior to the insured crop year. 

Final Grid Index (Actual Index Value): An index of the actual precipitation for a given grid ID during a specific index interval compared to the average precipitation for the same grid ID and index interval.  A value of 100 represents normal precipitation, 101+ above normal precipitation, and 0-99 below normal precipitation.

Forage Production: Plants grown for haying or grazing.

Grazing: Land that is used as pasture for livestock to roam and feed on.

Grid: Area over which the rainfall index is measured. Each grid is a 0.25×0.25 degree (latitude x longitude) area.

Haying: Separationof theplant from its root by mechanical equipment and cured.

Indemnity Payments: A payment to the producer when the actual grid index falls below the trigger index. Exact payment levels will vary depending on the policy including base value, productivity factor, and coverage level.Index Interval: The 2-month period chosen for the grid to be insured. (Ex: Jan-Feb, Feb-March). The chosen index intervals cannot overlap with one another.

Insured Acreage: Number of acres being insured under each policy.  This land must be suitable for haying or grazing.

Insurable Interest: The percentage of the insured crop that is at financial risk for the individual obtaining the policy.

Intended Use: The intent the producer has planned for the acreage can be either haying or grazing. Indicating that the acres will be used for haying requires additional information about irrigation and organic practices used in production.

Noncontiguous Acreage: Acreage not overlapping or bordering with another point of reference.

Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage (PRF) Insurance: Area-based insurance plan that covers perennial pasture, rangeland, and forage used to feed livestock; insures against low rainfall that affects forage production.

Point of Reference: Identifies the location of the acreage to be insured. This is used to determine the grid ID and county of the insured acres under that policy. (The same acres cannot be insured in more than one grid ID or county.)

Policy Protection: The dollar amount of protection per acre multiplied by the percent of value selected and your share. This can be used to calculate a total policy protection by multiplying by the total number of acres insured.

Premium: The total cost of the policy before deducting premium subsidies.

Premium Subsidy: The percentage of the premium that is paid by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. 

Producer Premium: The total amount paid by the producer after deducting premium subsidies.

Productivity Factor: A percentage selected to customize coverage based on the productivity of the acreage to be insured. This percentage is relative to a county base value. The productivity factor allows the producer to select coverage worth more or less than the county base value based on a selected percentage between 60 percent and 150 percent, in 1-percent increments.

Rainfall Index: Precipitation in a grid normalized to being a deviation from the long run average.

Trigger Grid Index: The value that is compared to the final index to determine indemnity payments. This is obtained by multiplying the expected grid index by the coverage level selected. An Indemnity is paid if the actual grid index is below the trigger grid index.

Key Dates:

• July 1, 2025 – pasture or hayfield must be planted prior to July 1 of year before the insured year
• December 1, 2025 – sales close, cancellation date, acreage report due
• September 1, 2026 – premium billing date
• December 31, 2026 – end of insurance date