Pasture, Rangeland & Forage Programs Funded

August 13, 2004 -- Dr. J. B. Penn, U.S. Department of Agriculture's under secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, announced on Thursday that the Risk Management Agency (RMA) had awarded four contracts to develop new risk management tools for pasture, rangeland and forage.

The Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000 (ARPA) authorized the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) to enter into contracts for research and development to increase participation in states, areas and agricultural commodities that are underserved by the federal crop insurance program. FCIC was also directed to establish the development of pasture, rangeland and forage programs as one of the highest research and development priorities.

Four RMA contracts, which are national in scope, emerged from this directive. The contracts range from a new plan for pasture/rangeland and dryland hay to seasonal growth constrained rainfall index and precipitation index studies.

Once the contract proposals are complete, the developers will provide their product to RMA for review. Upon completion of its review, RMA will submit the products to the FCIC Board of Directors for its consideration and final approval. The final approved products are planned for either 2006 or 2007 crop-year implementation.

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