Interested in enhanced coverage for your crops to help mitigate risk on your farm? Here’s what you need to know about Enhanced Coverage Option, referred to as ECO, as a fruit producer to receive more insurance coverage options than ever before.
What is Enhanced Coverage Option?
You may be wondering, what is enhanced insurance coverage? Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) is an area-based band of coverage that attaches to your existing eligible crop insurance policy. ECO provides two coverage option levels from 86-90%, and from 86-95% depending on your specific needs. ECO was developed by the USDA to provide producers with higher levels of coverage at a more affordable rate. “What makes ECO different from other coverage options is that it provides great shallow loss coverage at a reasonable premium,” says Cory Blumerick, crop insurance manager at GreenStone Farm Credit Services. “Because of this, it may benefit producers to consider this band of coverage in conjunction with their underlying Actual Production History (APH) policy to more effectively manage their risk.”
Why Fruit Growers Should Consider ECO in 2025
Enhanced Coverage Option for fruit growers is now available. Starting in 2025, apple, grape, and blueberry growers will all be eligible for ECO in the state of Michigan. Here’s why you should consider it.
The growing season for fruit producers in Michigan is notoriously volatile with many growers across the state finding themselves in various loss situations every year. For those without ECO, producers can sustain considerable damage in their production area before their individual policy indemnifies. With ECO however, fruit producers can receive a payment when the production area (typically county) has either a 5%, or 10% (depending on elected coverage level) decrease in expected production, even if they are individually experiencing a bumper crop that year.
ECO for apple, grape, and blueberry fruit crops is available in Yield Protection form only. Certain commodity crops such as corn and soybeans also have a Revenue Protection form of ECO available. ECO is an option that is elected during fruit sales close, which is November 20th every year in Michigan.
ECO is subsidized at a 65% level, meaning the federal government pays 65% of the premium, while the producer is responsible for the remaining 35%. This makes ECO a cost-effective option to insure for shallow losses.
How Does ECO Insurance Work?
ECO is based on your production area’s (typically county) expected yield, instead of producers’ individual yields. If your area’s final production falls below the coverage levels of 90-95% depending on the level you have selected with your policy, the indemnity will begin to be paid. If the area’s final production falls below 86% if the expected yield, then the full amount of ECO coverage will be paid out. The claims are paid independently of how your own farm yields, so it is possible to experience a personal loss yet not receive payment from ECO due to the level of county average yield or revenue.
For example, if you added an ECO policy at 90% coverage to your existing APH apple policy, you would be eligible to receive payment if the area’s final yield fell below 90% of its expected yield.
Note that the expected area yield is based on a 30-year linear trend line and is typically increasing steadily yearly to keep up with planting patterns. GreenStone’s team of crop insurance specialists can help you understand your area’s historical analysis by looking at your area’s ECO performance over the last 30 years.
How Can ECO Be Purchased?
If you are interested in obtaining ECO coverage, the first step is to reach out to your crop insurance specialist to see what band of coverage would benefit your operation most. “In order to obtain an ECO policy, you will need an underlying buy-up policy for apples, grapes, or blueberries. ECO attaches to all crop lines of that insured crop. If the insured elects to add ECO to their policy, it is added onto the fall application,” Cory noted. If you have questions on ECO and if it would be a good fit for your farm, GreenStone’s dedicated team of crop insurance specialists are ready to help answer any questions you might have on how ECO coverage can benefit you most.
