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Beginning Farmer/Rancher
OVERVIEW
Beginning Farmer/Rancher (BFR) is a program that waives Admin Fees and discounts premium by 10-15% (as of the 2026 RY, and for crops that qualify for a premium subsidy) depending on the number of years the producer has received BFR benefits. To qualify as a Beginning Farmer/Rancher, an individual must not have operated and managed, for more than 10 years actively, a farm or ranch in any state with a bona fide insurable interest in a crop or livestock as an owner/operator, landlord, tenant, or sharecropper.
BFR cannot be added/edited after the SCD for the current policy coverages (not all policies for the grower). BFR status must be approved by the AIP; however,"if a Processed By AIP date has not yet been added, a suspension for review will not be triggered until the coverage has been marked complete and detail lines exist.
Important Info About this Procedure
• As of the 2026 RY, years of eligibility have been extended from 5 years to 10 years. In addition to this, Premium Subsidy has been increased for the first 4 years that BFR benefits are received after applying for BFR. BFR Premium Subsidy percentages for each year of benefits received are provided below (for crops that qualify for a premium subsidy):
| • | For years 1 and 2 of BFR benefits, subsidy = 15% |
| • | For year 3 of BFR benefits, subsidy = 13% |
| • | For year 4 of BFR benefits, subsidy = 11% |
| • | For years 5-10 of BFR benefits, subsidy = 10% (this was original subsidy for all years of eligibility) |
| • | When an individual policyholder and/or all SBIs qualify as a BFR, then Admin Fees are waived and an additional premium discount applies to all coverages (both CAT and buy-up coverages, see subsidy list above). Admin Fees are waived for all CAT and buy-up coverages with an SCD (or Modified SCD) on or after the BFR Certification Date (application signature) indicated on the Maintain Grower page. |
| • | If an individual who qualifies as BFR was previously involved in the decision making or physical activities for a farm/ranch, the production history obtained during this time may be used in their APH. |
| • | Growers are still eligible for New Producer procedures. |
| • | If the policyholder is an individual, the person must qualify for BFR and complete a BFR application. If the policyholder is not an individual, all SBIs must qualify for BFR and complete a BFR application. |
| • | History transferred to a BFR must be identified with the "BF" Yield Descriptor. The yield descriptor only applies to APH years where the acres are greater than zero. For users with the permissions to view and use the Override Entire APH checkbox, marking this checkbox will allow a user to override existing yield descriptors with "BF" that should not be overridden otherwise. However, per BFR procedures, these yield descriptors should not be overridden with "BF": AY, GY, VY, OY, UY, AC, AX, EX, GC, GX, IX, NA, NG, G, PG, DG, and GW. If the user attempts to override these yield descriptors or add the "BF" Yield Descriptor to an APH that does not have the BFR status applied, the System will display a warning. |
| • | BFR/VFR Certifications/Applications are entered using the BFR/VFR Certification tool (in the Tools menu). Any years that the individual operated and managed a farm or ranch in any state with a bona fide insurable interest in a crop or livestock as an owner/operator, landlord, tenant, or sharecropper must be added via this tool. Any applicable exclusion records will also be added via this tool. The BFR Application/Certification does not connect back to the policy. This is the information sent up to RMA via the P75 records. |
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