FARGO, N.D. — June 1, 2026 — A new report from the Agricultural Risk Policy Center (ARPC) at North Dakota State University examines how the United States Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) has changed in size, composition, and structure from 2006 to 2025.
The report, Size and Growth of the United States Crop Insurance Portfolio, 2025, analyzes long-run trends in insured liabilities and net reported acres across major commodity groups, including field crops, fruits, nuts, vegetables, nurseries, forage, whole-farm coverage, and other commodities.

The study finds that insured liabilities have generally grown faster than insured acres across most commodity groups, suggesting that program growth has been driven more by rising insured values and coverage intensity than by broad acreage expansion. Field crops continue to account for the largest share of insured liabilities, while specialty-crop coverage shows varied growth patterns across fruits, nuts, vegetables, and nurseries.

The report also identifies forage coverage as one of the most significant structural shifts in the crop insurance portfolio. The rapid expansion of the index-based Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage (PRF) insurance plan increased both insured acres and liabilities, shifting a larger share of program exposure toward weather-correlated and spatially concentrated risk.

Between 2024 and 2025, participation indicators such as policies, units, and insured acres continued to expand, while nominal liabilities, premiums, and subsidies softened. The report notes that this pattern is consistent with lower projected commodity prices reducing insured value per acre rather than a decline in program participation.

“This report provides a comprehensive baseline for understanding how the federal crop insurance portfolio has evolved over the past two decades,” said Dr. Francis Tsiboe, co-author and senior research economist at ARPC. “By examining both insured liabilities and acres, the analysis helps distinguish between participation growth and deeper insured exposure per acre.”

The full report is available at: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qrzgjzvcc2f67h35evx9n/ARPC-Report-2026-01.pdf?rlkey=yb3w13e55oesnef89th4rgul6&raw=1

Media Contact:
Agricultural Risk Policy Center (ARPC)
North Dakota State University
arpc@ndsu.edu
www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/arpc