Harvest price trends and insurance for 2024

By Andi Anderson

The 2024 harvest prices for corn and soybeans have been finalized, with both seeing declines compared to projected prices set earlier in the year. For corn, the harvest price is $4.16 per bushel, down 11% from the projected $4.66.

Soybeans stand at $10.03 per bushel, 13% below the projected $11.55. While these decreases impact overall revenue projections, they do not trigger individual revenue insurance payments for most farms, even at the highest coverage level of 85%.

Farmers with individual revenue policies like Revenue Protection (RP) and Revenue Protection with the Harvest Price Exclusion (RP-HPE) will not see indemnity payments unless their yields fall below a set threshold.

For instance, corn growers at an 85% coverage level would need yield losses of at least 5% below their farm’s Actual Production History (APH) yield to receive payment. Lower coverage policies, such as 80% or 70%, require even greater yield drops to qualify for indemnities.

For soybean growers with a similar 85% coverage policy, yields would need to fall by more than 2% below APH to trigger payments. Lower coverage levels require higher yield losses, with a 70% policy needing at least a 19% yield decline for payouts.

County-based insurance plans offer additional coverage options, such as the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) and Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO).

SCO’s 86% coverage level allows small yield losses to trigger payments, while ARPI and ECO offer up to 90% and 95% coverage levels, respectively. For example, an ECO policy at 95% would provide payments if county corn yields are just slightly above expected levels.

Expected state-level yields suggest that most Corn Belt states will see corn and soybean yields near or above trend levels for 2024, with exceptions in Minnesota and Ohio.

However, yields can vary within states, meaning some counties may experience losses despite the overall trend.

Overall, while individual revenue insurance payments may not be widely triggered, county-based plans offer broader coverage, providing some security to farmers in regions where yield variability may still impact harvest outcomes.

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