36 Nebraska Cattleman November 2023 HEDGING BETS Pasture, Rangeland and Forage Insurance and How It Can Help Cattle Producers By Tressa Lawrence, Contributing Writer As cattle producers, we must be willing to take risks. Some might look at our livelihoods as a gamble in itself. What it truly boils down to is what you’re willing to gamble on and how you are willing to hedge those bets. There is insurance for your tractor, insurance for your home and even insurance for your rangeland. Pasture, rangeland and forage (PRF) insurance is a tool that can help producers when hedging their bets against Mother Nature. What Is PRF Insurance? “It’s primarily a rainfall index insurance built essentially to compensate livestock producers for the lack of rainfall on the premise that’s also going to result in a lack of grass or forage for their cattle to eat or any other livestock for that matter,” explains Jay Parsons, professor at the University of NebraskaLincoln. According to Claudia Nagle, vice president and director of crop insurance at FNIC, PRF insurance protects producers from the unexpected cost to purchase feed due to a lack of precipitation, making their grounds useless for hay or to graze their livestock. This product was designed to protect a producer’s operation from the risks of forage loss caused by a lack of precipitation. PRF is based off rainfall indexes provided by the National Oceanic and CONTINUED ON PAGE 38
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