Beginning with the 2012 crop year, farmers purchasing crop insurance for corn and soybeans in 14 Midwestern states will have the option to use the Trend-Adjusted Actual Production History Yield Endorsement. This endorsement will allow farmers to increase the yields used in calculating crop insurance guarantees. According to University of Illinois Extension farm management specialist Gary Schnitkey, electing to take this endorsement will give farmers more coverage for the same cost. A decision to elect the endorsement must be made by March 15, 2012.

Yields have been increasing over time and as Schnitkey explains – this trend adjustment takes that increase into consideration and adds to the APH yield, which is usually used to calculate guarantees. The new number will more accurately reflect the actual yields that we’re likely to experience in the coming year. Schnitkey says for most Illinois farmers the proposal adds about two bushels of corn to a farmer’s yield per year.

This program is an endorsement. It’s a pilot project available for corn and soybeans farmers in 14 states, roughly from Ohio to Colorado and North Dakota down to Kansas. Schnitkey predicts that – if the actuarial performance of this product works out, it will be expanded to other crops