PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release
May 2, 2006 www.agr.ne.gov		Contact: Christin Kamm (402) 471-6856

LINCOLN - Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) Director Greg Ibach today urged U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials to expand a new farm revenue insurance program that covers both crops and livestock, so producers in Nebraska could participate.

The revenue protection plan, called the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) program, is a pilot program administered by USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA). Ibach said AGR is currently offered in a handful of states, but not Nebraska.

"During the Governor's farm bill listening sessions, many Nebraskans told us the current farm bill tends to over-compensate in good crop years, and not compensate enough when more assistance is needed. Several individuals and organizations told the Governor they want more focus on farm revenue rather than just crop prices, since revenue protection provides a more predictable safety net - and is less vulnerable to criticism from our trading partners. AGR would provide Nebraska agriculture producers another important option to manage risk," Ibach said.

With the AGR program, a farmer can protect the revenue generated by his entire operation including livestock rather than just individual crops, as is the case under traditional crop insurance. AGR insures against the loss of revenue due to natural disaster, as well as market fluctuations. However, no more than 35% of expected income can be derived from livestock.

"The AGR program would be an attractive risk management tool in Nebraska, where we have a large number of diversified operations with both crops and livestock. The availability of the AGR program would improve economic stability for our producers, while lessening the need for future ad-hoc federal disaster payments," Ibach said.

Ibach said Nebraska would be a particularly strong candidate for AGR expansion due to the state's support of the crop insurance program. In 2004, nearly 87% of Nebraska's eligible farm acres were enrolled in the federal crop insurance program one of the highest participation rates in the nation.