Teamwork Makes the World Our Oyster
March 28, 2024

 Every day we work to support the largest permanent Farm Safety Net program in the world. About 25 years ago, there were roughly $30 billion in federal crop insurance liabilities nationwide; today that figure is north of $200 billion.

A key factor behind that enormous growth in a quarter century is program expansion. When federal crop insurance first became available 85 years ago, only wheat was covered. Today, nearly 600 commodities are insured. One sector of agriculture that has seen particular growth in coverage over the past few decades is aquaculture.

After the 2018 Farm Bill, shellfish growers expressed a strong desire for an individualized program, rather than modifying Whole-Farm Revenue Protection options. In early 2020, we began hosting listening sessions with these producers nationwide. This effort led to the creation of RMA’s Shellfish Development Team and a contract to develop a pilot program we are rolling out this year.

“Not only RMA, but the entire USDA has improved its risk management options for shellfish growers,” Policy Administration Branch Chief Chandra Place points out. “The new shellfish program leverages existing grower records, reducing record-keeping burdens.”

Members of RMA’s Shellfish Development Team
Chandra Place, Alex Sereno, Claire White, and Shannon Olive
National Shellfisheries Conference, Charlotte, NC, March 18, 2024

Chandra, who worked as a grain merchandiser before joining RMA ten years ago, collaborated with other RMA experts to design a shellfish program from scratch to address concerns growers raised about FSA’s NAP program and RMA’s other existing products.

“This new program offers personalized protection based on their operation’s oyster survival rates and prices,” Chandra adds. “For some growers, relying on a county average price just doesn’t cut it.”

RMA’s Shellfish Development Team, which included Regional Offices representing coastal areas and members from Product Management, represents teamwork at its finest. Creating a new program with limited data availability was no small task!

"There were a lot of challenges,” Senior Risk Management Specialist Shannon Olive tells me. “Overall, the product is much different due to the diverse production methods and growth cycles of the crop. Accounting for these differences made it challenging to develop a product that would be actuarially sound while not making the program too burdensome to growers.”

Oyster harvesting on the Gulf Coast – Panacea, FL, December 2022

Shannon, who grew up in North Carolina on a tobacco and cattle farm, has worked at the Raleigh Regional Office for 13 years, which serves producers from the Tar Heel State up to New England. Along with other colleagues on the Shellfish Development Team, she spent endless hours working to complete the new program in time for the 2024 crop year.

“The meetings were tough but there was great teamwork,” she says. “And the product we released was much better than the deliverable we received.”

Members of RMA’s Shellfish Development Team
Matt Wilkin, Austin “Brook” Stuart, Falan Goff, and Chris Rutland
Oyster South Symposium, New Orleans, LA, February 29, 2024

These sentiments are echoed by teammate Chris Rutland from the Valdosta Regional Office. A Georgia native, he worked for Bunge Ltd. as a commodity market analyst prior to joining RMA three years ago.

“I think the most challenging part of the project was the time crunch before the 2024 rollout,” he shares. “With the policy provisions, handbooks, training materials, and presentations all happening concurrently there were a lot of moving pieces, especially leading up to the rollout. It really could not have happened without everyone stepping up!”

“The teamwork and camaraderie at RMA… Seriously, it brought me to tears,” Chandra adds. “We were laser-focused on growers, making this project the very best it could be. I’m proud that I got to be a part of it.”

This new shellfish program is incredibly important for aquaculture producers that are underserved by USDA programs. Additionally, with the global population projected to reach over 9 billion by 2050, there will be enormous demand for seafood products and greater need for risk management options.

“Farmed oysters are a growing industry and one of the most sustainable seafoods available,” Chris points out. “But oyster producers face production risks like any other farmers and RMA is uniquely positioned to help them manage these risks.”

“This program allows growers who typically have not participated in government programs to have a risk management tool for a very unique crop,” Shannon adds. “During our outreach efforts there has been much interest from other aquaculture sectors to be added to this program.”

Of course, improving existing programs and expanding the commodities that federal crop insurance covers is an ongoing effort.

“Aquaculture is Agriculture,” Chandra emphasizes. “We are currently working with the FCIC Board of Directors to further improve the shellfish program for 2025 and I’m hoping this program can expand to other underwater farmed fish species in the future!”

A huge “Thank You!” to everyone on the Shellfish Team that collaborated to ensure the program worked transparently and efficiently for growers. Their level of collaboration, hard work, passion, and commitment are making a huge impact today and into a brighter future for all of America’s agricultural producers!

RMA’s Shellfish Development Team Members: Claire White, Chandra Place, Alex Sereno, Shannon Olive, Angela Conchola, Galen Tuley, Matt Wilkin, Kirk Allen, Julie Swigart, Staci Wilson, Cody Adkins, Ben Thiel, Jeff Bingham, Falan Goff, Darryl Hinden, Annie Lee, Mike Ciliege, Lawrence Ediger, Kameka Gray, Christopher Rutland, Austin “Brook” Stuart, Ryan Mortenson

– Marcia

Marcia Bunger is the Administrator of USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA). Prior to her appointment, she served as a County Executive Director for USDA’s Farm Service Agency. A native South Dakotan, Bunger is also the owner and operator of a 2000-acre farm, a cum laude graduate of Augustana College, and the first member of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and first woman to serve as RMA Administrator.