Crop insurance for fruit growers: Update for the 2025 crop year

Chris Bardenhagen<bardenh1@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension - October 01, 2024

There have been a number of recent updates to the crop insurance policies available to Michigan fruit farmers.

Closeup of ripe blueberries on a blueberry bush. — The blueberry Actual Production History policy has several recent changes. Photo by Chris Bardenhagen, MSU Extension.

Given the risks posed by weather and markets (among other things), crop insurance can be a prudent use of farmers’ resources. There are several crop insurance programs available to fruit farmers in Michigan. Administered by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA), these programs are regularly updated in response to farmers’ ongoing needs.

This article details a few of the major recent changes to policies for Michigan fruit farmers. Your local crop insurance agent is a critical resource for explaining the different options available and how they apply to your specific situation. Find an agent near you with RMA’s agent locator.

Apples

For the apple Actual Production History (APH) program:

The Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) was added as an option for the 2025 crop year. For more explanation on ECO, see page 10 in Insurance Options for Fruit Growers from Michigan State University Extension.
Enterprise Units (EU) were added as an option. For more information on EUs, see RMA’s Frequently Asked Questions on Enterprise Units.
Ambrosia and Evercrisp are now in Variety Group B.

Blueberries

For the blueberry APH program:

In response to discussions between RMA, insurance providers and growers, blueberry farmers can now use optional units to insure fields by type:
- Early season
- Mid-season
- Late season
ECO was added for 2025.
Mason and Oceana counties are now included as covered areas.

Cherries

The Actual Revenue History (ARH) programs for both sweet cherries and processing tart cherries have been expanded:

EUs have been added.
EUs by organic farming practice (EO) have been added.

Grapes

Changes apply for grape growers in the counties covered by the grape programs (Berrien, Cass, Kalamazoo and Van Buren):

For the grape APH program, the ECO was added.
For the Grapevine Insurance Program, grafted vines can now be covered starting at six months. The grafting period has been reduced from 12 months to six months.

Micro farm

Fruit farms with approved revenue under $350,000 ($400,000 for carryover insured) may be eligible for the Micro Farm, a subset of the Whole Farm Revenue Program.

Since 2023, Micro Farm allows for a farm’s worst year to be dropped from the revenue calculation and allows for adjustments due to farm expansions (see page 11 in Insurance Options for Fruit Growers).
Starting for the 2025 crop year, beginning and veteran farmer/ranchers can use another person’s tax records when taking over a farm operation if they have materially participated in operating or managing the farm.

RMA has been actively engaging with the farming community to develop these changes. To learn more or provide input, connect with your regional RMA office.

For more detailed information on these policies and how they work, see Michigan State University Extension Bulletin E-3426, Insurance Options for Fruit Farmers. For an introduction to how crop insurance works, see RMA’s new resource, Beginner’s Guide to Crop Insurance, available in both English and Spanish.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).