ORONO — University of Maine Cooperative Extension is a recipient of one of 24 cooperative agreements recently awarded under USDA’s Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) Crop Insurance Education in Targeted States Program totaling approximately $5 million.

The agency provides funding for organizations in the form of cooperative agreements to provide education and training nationwide.

Under this agreement, UMaine Extension will receive $214,007 to provide crop insurance education to Maine farmers at commodity meetings and workshops throughout the state using Extension newsletters, videos and the Maine Crop Insurance Education website. The outreach effort will keep farmers current on available policies, updates and deadlines, as well as connect farmers to resources.

“RMA is pleased to provide this type of educational support to farmers and rural America to help mitigate risk,” says Heather Manzano, RMA acting administrator. “These programs will provide information on Crop Insurance 101, Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) and Rainfall Index Insurance.”

UMaine Extension vegetable and small fruit specialist David Handley, one of the principal investigators on the project, says the aim of the educational program is to help Maine farmers know how to use crop insurance to protect from disasters that could bring financial hardship or ruin to their businesses.