LRP-Lamb Approved

September 29, 2006 - The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) on Thursday, Sept. 28, approved the implementation of the Livestock Risk Protection-Lamb (LRP-Lamb) pilot program beginning with the 2007 reinsurance year. All counties in 27 states have been designated part of the pilot.

"This decision is the culmination of the hard work done by many groups working together to define the details of a price protection product for the sheep industry," stated Margaret Soulen Hinson, Idaho sheep producer and point person on the LRP-Lamb project.

The American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) and its development partners have been working with the FCIC board and the Risk Management Agency (RMA) since Oct. 2004 on this proposal for an LRP-Lamb pilot project. The design of the project allows producers and feeders an opportunity to purchase insurance to protect them against unexpected declines in lamb prices.

"I would like to recognize and thank the people from Applied Analytics, the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center, the Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC) and Virginia Tech for all of the hard work and long hours they contributed over the last three years in the development of this product," stated Soulen Hinson. "Also, we are grateful to the FCIC board and RMA who worked closely with ASI to eventually approve a plan of insurance to provide the sheep industry with a price-risk management tool."

The board approved implementation of the program in the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

"The success of the LRP-Lamb will be dependent on the support producers and feeders show for this program. The higher the demand for the product, the greater the chance the product will have to thrive and become a permanent product," commented Paul Frischknecht, ASI president. "There is much work to be done before the insurance is ready to sell. It is ASI's intent to provide a seminar on this topic at the 2007 convention in San Antonio, Texas, in January."
Staff contact: Paul Rodgers, 303-771-3500

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