This article is the second part of a two-article series on annual forage insurance. The first article is focused on policy basics and can be found in this eUpdate.

The deadline to purchase Annual Forage Insurance (AFI) is July 15 for any annual forage crop planted from August 2024 to July 2025, which is recognized as the 2025 commodity year. Producers who buy coverage will have premiums billed on Aug. 30, 2025. They are not required to secure AFI coverage for all annual forage acres they plant.

How does selecting a growing season work?

The AFI growing season refers to the seven months following the month when the forage crop is planted. Like with other crop insurance programs, an AFI-covered forage crop must be planted between early and final planting dates stipulated by policy. Acreage reporting must take place by the fifth day of a growing season’s first month. Take the following scenarios as examples.

• Growing season 1 for commodity year 2025 begins in September 2024 and ends in March 2025. For growing season 1, the earliest planting date is Aug. 1, 2024, and the final planting date is Aug. 31, 2024. Acreage reports are due on Sept. 5, 2024.
• Growing seasons 5 and 6 — those beginning in February and March with planting dates in January and February, respectively — are not allowed in Kansas. Any forage crops planted in January or February would be reported in growing season 7, which begins in April.
• The final (12th) growing season for commodity year 2025 begins in August 2025 and ends in February 2026. The earliest planting date for this growing season is July 1, 2025, and the final planting date is July 31, 2025. Acreage reports are due on Aug. 5, 2025.

How does interval selection work?

Interval selection has some rules. Either two or three 2-month intervals must be selected.

• For growing seasons 1-4 and 7-9, three 2-month intervals within the growing season must be selected and assigned weights that add to 100% — for example, 30%, 30% and 40%. These weights scale up or down the protection (both premium and potential indemnities) provided in each interval. No single month can be insured twice within a growing season, so the producer must insure six of a growing season’s seven months.
  • For a single interval, the highest weight is 40%, and the lowest is 20%.
  • The most “concentrated” intervals would be 40%, 40% and 20% in any order.
  • The most “spread out” intervals would be 35%, 35% and 30%, in any order.
  • Instead of making interval decisions to maximize protection in specific months, producers may focus on choosing which month to exclude and placing weights on the remaining six months or three intervals.
• For growing seasons 10, 11 and 12, which begin in June, July and August, respectively, two or three intervals are allowed. The highest single interval weight allowed is 50%.
  • The most “concentrated” intervals would be 50%, 50%, in any order.
  • The most “spread out” intervals would be 35%, 35% and 30% in any order.
  • Another perspective is producers could decide whether to exclude one or three months and how to assign weights for the remaining six months (three intervals) or four months (two intervals), respectively.
• Examples
  • A producer planted forage sorghum in June 2023 in Hodgeman County (grid 22021) during growing season 11.
    • The producer wanted to ensure good growth early in the growing season and harvest in October, so the producer selected July-August at 50% and September-October at 50%.
    • The producer selected a coverage level of 90% and a productivity factor of 100%.
    • The producer paid a $28 premium per acre and received a $10 indemnity per acre.
      • An indemnity was not triggered in the July-August interval as precipitation was higher than the historical average. A $10 indemnity was triggered for the September-October interval when precipitation was 83.3% of the historical average.
  • The same producer planted forage sorghum acreage early in May 2023 during growing season 10.
    • Regarding assigned weights, the producer selected June-July at 35%, August-September at 35% and October-November at 30%.
    • The producer selected a coverage level of 90% and a productivity factor of 100%.
    • The producer paid a $25 premium per acre and received a $47 indemnity per acre after their grid received substantially lower-than-average rainfall during the October-November interval (37.6% of the historical average).
  • Estimated using the AFI Decision Support Tool, these examples are for demonstration purposes and use policy rules for commodity year 2024. Outcomes vary widely across counties, years, and policy choices. Only an insurance agent officially can estimate premiums.

From a risk management perspective, intervals would ideally correspond with the periods when forage yields are most sensitive to precipitation shortfalls. Different annual forages have different growth periods. For example, triticale can be grown for six months, spring oats for 90 days, and forage sorghum x sudan for six months. Research conducted in western Kansas on major forage crops shows precipitation in the two months preceding planting, month of planting and first month following planting most highly correlates with forage yield. Under current rules, AFI does not allow for insuring the forage crop until the first month after planting and can require insuring months after harvest.

What are some strategies to follow when selecting intervals?

There is no right or wrong way to select intervals. The producer may want to study their production history, review historical precipitation in their fields and grid, consider the months most critical for forage production, and consult with their insurance agents. Most insurance agents have useful decision tools, or producers can go to http://af.agforceusa.com/ri.

Some producers use the following strategies, which are not necessarily mutually exclusive:

1. Select intervals during the most sensitive growth periods. This would generally correspond with a growing season’s earliest intervals, though this may vary by rainfall zone. Producers can apply the highest possible weights to intervals when crops are sensitive to precipitation and the lowest weights to less critical periods. AFI only allows for insuring crops during months after planting. For short-season crops, producers may have to insure months or intervals after the crop is harvested but before the required insurance period ends.
2. Pick intervals during the months most likely to experience rainfall shortages. This approach could be based on studying historical precipitation; insurance agents may be able to provide additional resources. Producers could also reference the Climate Prediction Center’s outlook; however, long-range forecast accuracy is poor.
3. Spread out intervals as much as possible during the growing season. This strategy may suit a producer who is uncertain about rainfall patterns or concerned about a grid having different outcomes from those observed in specific fields within the grid. Although more relevant for Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage (PRF) insurance, a larger number of intervals (all else held constant) increases the likelihood that a payout will be made.
4. Develop a strategy to maximize expected payouts. This approach focuses less on risk management, and it may lead to higher premiums and greater risk. Some insurance agents have tools that can inform this approach. Research on past PRF outcomes suggests that selecting (1) winter intervals and (2) the highest productivity factor leads to higher payouts in the long run. Although AFI offers less flexibility for interval selection than PRF, both use the same grids and precipitation index, so the findings are still generally relevant.

We gratefully acknowledge the feedback and editorial support provided by Alice Roach.

This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2021-70027-34694.

Jennifer Ifft, Agricultural Economics
jifft@ksu.edu

John Holman, Cropping Systems Agronomist – Garden City
jholman@ksu.edu