By Lauren Moore
In this Ask the Expert, Shaun Collins answers questions about the new Turfgrass Value Select (TVS) pilot program from USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), the first insurance product of its kind for the turfgrass industry.
Shaun has worked with RMA for over 16 years and currently serves as RMA’s New Products Coordinator, overseeing development of new crop insurance programs which are developed either internally by RMA or by private developers. In his role, Shaun coordinates with teammates to develop new crop insurance policies internally and review privately developed crop insurance products.
Shaun has been instrumental in the development of several new crop insurance products, including Nursery Value Select, which served as the model for TVS. Shaun credits the successful development of these new products to the tremendous team members he works with at RMA, along with their specialized knowledge and skill sets.
What is TVS and how does it work?
TVS is an inventory-based plan of insurance being piloted for turfgrass (sod) producers in select counties in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas.
Key design aspects of the program include the ease of establishing insurance and ability for producers to customize the program to their individual risk management needs. When purchasing a policy, turfgrass producers can select a dollar amount of coverage for the irrigated turfgrass types they choose to insure based on their expected inventory and risk management needs.
Source : farmers.gov