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Pennsylvania is setting up programs to help educate some 4,000 farmers about crop insurance and risk management issues.

Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff announced that Pennsylvania won a $754,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to educate producers on crop insurance opportunities in 2006.

The Department of Agriculture will partner with the USDA, Pennsylvania State University and others to reach more than 4,000 producers. The grant will fund crop insurance workshops, presentations, trade shows, one-on-one meetings and promotional efforts through print and broadcast outlets.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture says it is the only state agriculture agency in the nation to develop and own a crop insurance product. AGR-Lite was created by the department in response to many farmers not having traditional products available for their farms. This whole-farm product is an umbrella policy designed for specialty crop and diversified farm operations. Seventeen other states offer AGR-Lite products under the ownership and oversight of Pennsylvania.

Crop insurance has paid $127 million in loss payments to Pennsylvania producers in the last five years, representing a $4 return on each dollar invested, according to state officials.

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

Topics Trends Agribusiness Pennsylvania