The USDA is expanding crop insurance options with a new grapevine insurance program.
It will provide coverage for the loss of grafted vines caused by natural perils like frost or fire.
The new program will also complement the grape crop insurance program that covers the fruit growing on the vine.
“We strive to offer the strongest risk management resources for our nation’s agricultural producers,” says Marcia Bunger, administratior of the Risk Management Agency.
“Sometimes that’s by improving an already existing product or creating a new product like this one to fill a gap.”
It’s especially critical when you realize that the loss of fruit can affect a grower for a season, but losing a grapevine is a much costlier situation in terms of the money and time needed to reestablish a productive vine.
The program pays losses when the vine is dead or so badly damaged that it won’t recover within a year.
