Since hybrid seed technology works so seamlessly with precision technology, I figured it would be more than relevant to mention that farmers who use Monsanto Advanced Technology are eligible for lower risk insurance premiums in seven additional states. The attractive insurance premiums are offered through a revised risk management biotechnology endorsement.
Farmers in 11 states who plant a majority of their corn acres using hybrid seeds featuring YieldGard® Plus with Roundup Ready® Corn 2, YieldGard VT Triple® and YieldGard VT Triple PRO™ technology from Monsanto Company will have an opportunity to lower their crop insurance premiums in 2009. The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors of the United States Department of Agriculture recently approved the expansion of a Risk Management Biotechnology Endorsement for the 2009 crop year. The program is an expansion of the 2008 pilot originally approved as the Biotech Yield Endorsement(SM) Program, or BYE(SM) Program.
In 2009 the program will be available in the following additional states: Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. These expansion states join the original four pilot states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota.
The program lowers premiums for non-irrigated corn producers who plant qualifying hybrids in the approved states and also includes irrigated acres in Kansas and Nebraska. The cost of a total policy premium during the 2008 BYE(SM) pilot program was reduced on average by more than $3 per acre on policies such as Actual Production History, Revenue Assurance, and Crop Production Coverage. Savings with the 2009 pilot are expected to be similar. To be eligible for the premium discount, farmers must plant at least 75 percent of their corn acres on an insured unit basis including replanted
acres to corn hybrids containing YieldGard VT Triple, YieldGard VT Triple PRO, or YieldGard Plus with Roundup Ready Corn 2 technologies.