Monetizing Crop Risk into Crop Payments
US federally subsidized crop insurance has monetized field crop production risk into a multi-billion dollar income flow to farmers. Monetized value has grown with higher market value of production, higher premium subsidies, higher coverage levels, and, recently, higher use of area add-up insurance. Monetization will continue as the 2025 Farm Bill has raised premium subsidies for nearly all insurance products including an 80% subsidy for 95% coverage ECO area add-up insurance.
2025 Crop Insurance Harvest Prices for Corn and Soybeans
The harvest price discovery period for Federal crop insurance for corn and soybeans in the Midwest concluded on October 31st, 2025. Harvest prices are $4.22 per bushel for corn and $10.35 per bushel for soybeans. Both are below their projected prices. The corn harvest price is 10.2% lower; the soybean harvest price is 1.8% lower.
Apiculture Rainfall Index Insurance: An Insurance Product for Beekeeping Operations of All Sizes
The Apiculture Rainfall Index Insurance program (API) is a crop insurance product underutilized by Illinois beekeepers. According to USDA estimates, fewer than 2% of Illinois colonies were enrolled in API in 2023. Like other Federal crop insurance programs, API is heavily subsidized. Since 2009, API has returned an average of $2.11 in payments for each $1.00 in U.S. beekeeper-paid premium. There is no minimum number of colonies required to buy an API policy.

The farmdoc Crop Insurance section offers iFARM online tools including the Premium Calculator, Payment Evaluator and Price Distribution Tool. These tools are updated annually during the Spring crop insurance election period.














