Agribusiness

Farm Insurance

Q: I have a homeowners policy on the farmhouse. Is that enough?

No. Homeowners policies exclude farming as a business activity. That means the machinery, the livestock, the outbuildings used for the operation and — most importantly — the farm liability are all outside the policy. A farm or farmowners policy is written specifically to include them.

Q: What is the difference between crop insurance and a farm policy?

A farm policy insures physical property and liability: buildings, machinery, livestock and the people who come onto your place. Crop insurance protects the yield or revenue of a growing crop through a federally regulated program with fixed sign-up deadlines. Most operations need both, and we can handle them together.

Q: Do I need farm coverage if I only farm part time?

Often yes. A few head of cattle, a roadside stand, a hay operation or a shop full of equipment is enough to create exposures a homeowners policy will not cover. A small hobby farm policy usually costs less than people expect and closes some very large gaps.

Q: Are my ATVs and side-by-sides covered?

Only if they are listed. Homeowners policies typically give limited or no coverage once a recreational vehicle leaves the premises, and liability is the bigger risk. Scheduling them on the farm policy covers both the machine and the injury it could cause.

Q: What happens if my cattle get out and cause an accident?

Farm liability is generally the coverage that responds to injuries and property damage caused by escaped livestock, including your legal defense. What matters is the limit — this is one of the exposures we recommend backing with an umbrella.

Q: When do I need to make crop insurance decisions?

Federal crop insurance runs on firm dates set by USDA's Risk Management Agency — sales closing, acreage reporting and production reporting all fall on set calendar days, and coverage cannot be added or changed after a deadline passes. Call well ahead of the date for your crop so there is time to compare options.

Coverage built around how an operation actually runs — the house, the barns, the machinery, the livestock and the liability.

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Policy formFarmowners or standalone farm package

Most overlookedPeak-season and stored grain limits

Crop deadlinesSet by USDA Risk Management Agency

Overview

What farm insurance does

Farming creates exposures a homeowners policy was never written to handle. A farm policy pulls the dwelling, the farm structures, the machinery, the livestock and the liability into a single program that can be scaled from a few acres and a hobby herd all the way up to a full row-crop and livestock operation.

We write farm business in west-central Ohio every day and represent carriers that specialize in agribusiness — including feed and seed dealers, custom operators, grain handling and produce growers. Our team includes a dedicated crop insurance specialist, so multi-peril and crop-hail decisions get made with the same agent who handles your buildings and machinery.

The details are where farm policies are won or lost: whether machinery is scheduled or blanketed, whether peak-season limits are high enough at planting, whether the side-by-side is actually listed, and whether liability follows you onto ground you rent from someone else. Those are the questions we walk through.

What's typically included

The parts of a farm policy

Every carrier words things a little differently, but nearly all farm insurance policies are built from these pieces. Knowing what each one does makes it much easier to tell a good quote from a cheap one.

Farm Dwelling & Household Property

Covers the farmhouse and its contents on the same policy as the operation, so there is no argument about where the house ends and the farm begins.

Farm Structures

Barns, machine sheds, grain bins, silos, milk houses, shops, fences, corrals and other outbuildings — scheduled individually or blanketed together depending on how many you have.

Scheduled & Unscheduled Farm Personal Property

Tractors, combines, planters, wagons, tools, tile, chemicals, seed and feed. High-value machinery is normally scheduled by serial number; smaller items are covered under a blanket limit.

Livestock

Covers cattle, hogs, sheep, horses and poultry against named perils such as fire, lightning, drowning, electrocution, accidental shooting and loss while in transit.

Farm Liability

Responds when the operation causes injury or damage — a visitor hurt in the barn lot, livestock that get onto the road, or spray drift onto a neighbor. Includes your legal defense.

Products & Completed Operations

Protects you when what you sell — hay, produce, eggs, livestock, custom work — causes injury or damage after it has left the farm.

Worth asking about

Add-ons and endorsements

These are not on every policy by default. Some cost a few dollars a year, and they are frequently the difference between a claim that is covered and one that is not.

Peak Season Coverage

Temporarily raises limits on feed, seed, fertilizer and chemicals during the weeks when the most inventory is sitting on the place.

Stored Grain & Crops in Storage

Insures grain in bins and crops in storage against fire, wind and other covered causes of loss, including the collapse coverage bins often need.

Crop Insurance — MPCI & Crop-Hail

Federal multi-peril crop insurance protects yield or revenue on growing crops; private crop-hail covers hail and fire damage acre by acre. Both have firm calendar deadlines.

Farm Auto & Trucking

Covers farm trucks, semis, grain trailers and hauling — including hauling for hire, which changes the rating and the filings required.

ATVs, UTVs & Side-by-Sides

Schedules Rangers, Gators and four-wheelers for physical damage and liability on and off the farm, where a homeowners policy usually stops at the property line.

Pollution & Custom Farming Liability

Addresses manure release, chemical application drift and liability arising from custom work performed on someone else’s ground.

Workers Compensation & Employers Liability

For operations with hired or seasonal help. In Ohio, workers compensation is purchased through the state Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, with stop-gap employers liability added to your farm policy.

Equipment Breakdown & Confinement Systems

Covers mechanical and electrical failure of grain systems, coolers and HVAC, plus livestock losses caused by ventilation or power failure in confinement barns.

Ways to save

Discounts we look for on every quote

Price should never be the only reason to pick a policy, but there is no reason to overpay for the coverage you want. These are the credits we check before we present anything to you.

See What You'd Pay

Combining the farmhouse, machinery and liability into one farm package
Newer buildings, updated wiring and on-farm fire protection
Blanketing buildings instead of insuring each one separately
Higher deductibles on machinery and structures
Farm association, multi-policy and claims-free credits
Accurate, current values so you are not paying for coverage you no longer need

Farm Insurance coverage from STF Insurance Group

Common questions

Farm Insurance FAQs

I have a homeowners policy on the farmhouse. Is that enough?

What is the difference between crop insurance and a farm policy?

Do I need farm coverage if I only farm part time?

Are my ATVs and side-by-sides covered?

What happens if my cattle get out and cause an accident?

When do I need to make crop insurance decisions?

The descriptions on this page are general summaries of how these coverages usually work. They are not a contract and do not amend any policy. Availability, wording and limits vary by carrier — your issued policy governs what is covered.

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