As you start planning and preparing for the 2027 crop year, are you worried that input costs will work against you, or that commodity prices will deteriorate? There are insurance options to protect your margin.
Margin Protection (MP) insurance has been around since 2016 and starting with the 2026 crop year, Margin Coverage Option (MCO) was added to the arsenal of tools available to producers. Both offer price protection and insulate the producer from climbing input prices, with Margin Coverage Option (MCO) operating a little more simply.
Margin Coverage Option (MCO) is an area-based insurance plan that provides a band of coverage on your expected margin. It’s designed to work alongside your existing Revenue Protection (RP), Yield Protection (YP), or Actual Production History (APH) policy.
Feature | Margin Coverage Option (MCO) | Margin Protection (MP) |
|---|---|---|
Purchase deadline | September 30 | September 30 |
What yield is used to calculate coverage? | Underlying policy approved yield | Expected county yield |
Overlap with underlying policy? | No | Yes: Premium credits may apply |
Premium support | 80% | 44% |
Can we bundle? | With SCO | No |
Coverage range for 2026 | 95% - 86% | 95% - 70%* |
Coverage range for 2027 | 95% - 90% | 95% - 70%* |
*Margin Protection offers a protection factor of 80% to 120% in 1% increments
If you’ve purchased Margin Protection (MP) or Margin Coverage Option (MCO) for the 2026 season, and you’d like to see how the components of the policy are performing this year, reach out to your insurance officer who has the tools to help you see this information.
For Margin Coverage Option policies, here’s an example:
Contract | Projected Price | Discovery Price on 7/8/26 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
Corn | 4.56 | 4.64 | 1.75% |
Soybeans | 10.73 | 11.98 | 11.65% |
Wheat | 6.34 | 6.33 | -0.16% |
Urea | 406.62 | 672.31 | 65.34% |
DAP | 686.88 | 755 | 9.92% |
Natural Gas | 3.47 | 2.68 | -22.77% |
Potash | 588.06 | 769.3 | 30.82% |
Diesel | 2.18 | 3.92 | 79.82% |
For more insurance about margin insurance, contact your insurance officer.
