Crop year 2027 · sign-up deadline Dec 1, 2026

PRF insurance in Penobscot County, Maine: 2027 grids, values and record

Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) is USDA’s rainfall-index insurance for grazing land and hay ground. USDA’s 2027 files offer it in Penobscot County on 33 grids: 29643, 29644, 29645, 29646, 29943, 29944, 29945, 29946, 29947, 30243, 30244, 30245, 30246, 30247, 30248, 30545, 30546, 30547, 30548, 30549, 30845, 30846, 30847, 30848, 31145, 31146, 31147, 31445, 31446, 31447, 31745, 31746, 31747. It pays when precipitation in the grid over two months you choose comes in under a set share of normal.

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Grids
33
Grazing, county base value per acre
$43.10
Hay, non-irrigated, per acre
$223.00
Hay, irrigated, per acre
$167.00
January to February cap
25%
Sign-up deadline
Dec 1, 2026

USDA’s 2027 county base values, the same on every grid in the county. Protection per acre is the value times your coverage level times a productivity factor of 60 to 150: grazing at 90% and 100 is $38.79 an acre.

Example, not a recommendation: 100 acres of grazing at 90% coverage, productivity factor 100, half in April to May and half in June to July, on grid 30545, the middle of the county’s 33 grids by premium. The full premium is $405: USDA pays $207 and you pay $198, or $1.98 an acre. Run over 1951 to 2025 at 2027 rates, it would have paid in 47 of 75 years, an average of $341 a year, or $3.41 an acre. That is the past record, not a forecast, and it leaves out the administrative fee.

What each pair of months costs in Penobscot County

At 90% coverage, across the 33 grids that touch the county: the middle grid first, then the lowest and highest. The premium is the full rate per $100 of protection; USDA pays 59% at 70%, 59% at 75%, 55% at 80%, 55% at 85%, 51% at 90%. Normal is the grid’s average precipitation for those months. A year counts, of the 75 from 1951 to 2025, when the grid’s index for those months came in under 90% of normal, which is when a 90% policy pays.

Each pair of months in Penobscot County, Maine at 90% coverage
MonthsNormalPremium per $100Years under 90%
Jan-Feb6.10 in$9.60
$8.91–10.53		31
29–34
Feb-Mar6.21 in$9.61
$8.99–11.24		31
25–33
Mar-Apr6.85 in$10.27
$9.79–11.89		31
29–34
Apr-May7.09 in$11.72
$9.41–13.27		32
29–36
May-Jun7.35 in$10.34
$8.10–11.91		32
25–36
Jun-Jul7.67 in$8.64
$7.42–10.69		32
28–38
Jul-Aug7.46 in$10.84
$9.33–13.18		31
24–34
Aug-Sep7.38 in$11.37
$10.21–12.94		34
30–36
Sep-Oct7.94 in$11.38
$9.35–12.12		34
31–38
Oct-Nov8.54 in$9.85
$8.57–11.12		32
28–35
Nov-Dec8.34 in$9.30
$8.60–10.62		32
27–36

The wettest pair of months here is October to November (8.54 in on the middle grid) and the driest is January to February (6.10 in). Coverage costs least in June to July and most in April to May. The months to insure are the ones when a dry spell costs you grass or hay, not the cheapest ones.

The last five years in Penobscot County, and 2026 so far

The index for each pair of months as a percent of normal (100 is a normal year), on the middle grid (each grid has its own; the calculator shows yours). Shaded cells came in under 90%, where a 90% policy on those months would have paid. 2026 shows the 6 pairs of months USDA has published so far.

PRF index by pair of months, 2021 to 2026, Penobscot County, Maine
Months202120222023202420252026
so far
Jan-Feb75105118736641
Feb-Mar801215715512057
Mar-Apr7811764168144103
Apr-May821018180135116
May-Jun556613897110118
Jun-Jul99961511276985
Jul-Aug10613115111750—
Aug-Sep1391381617067—
Sep-Oct1521531363478—
Oct-Nov87138974678—
Nov-Dec781211139281—

Every year since 1951, priced at 2027 rates, is in the calculator.

PRF grids in Penobscot County

Each grid’s normal precipitation over a year, its driest year since 1951 as a percent of normal, 2025 as a percent of normal, and how many of 75 years as a whole came in under 90%. The driest year on the record here was 2001.

PRF grids in Penobscot County, Maine
GridNormal, yearDriest year2025Years under 90%Calculator
2964344.2 in2001, 63%87%21Open
2964446.2 in2001, 58%86%20Open
2964545.8 in2001, 56%86%21Open
2964647.0 in2001, 55%87%21Open
2994344.0 in2001, 65%85%20Open
2994443.9 in2001, 64%86%21Open
2994543.4 in2001, 60%87%21Open
2994643.8 in2001, 58%88%22Open
2994746.4 in2001, 57%89%21Open
3024345.5 in2001, 61%89%21Open
3024444.8 in2001, 59%88%21Open
3024544.0 in2001, 58%88%21Open
3024643.4 in2001, 58%89%22Open
3024744.9 in2001, 57%90%21Open
3024846.6 in2001, 55%91%22Open
3054544.4 in2001, 58%90%23Open
3054643.1 in2001, 59%90%21Open
3054743.9 in2001, 60%90%20Open
3054845.3 in2001, 60%90%20Open
3054946.3 in2001, 59%88%21Open
3084544.2 in2001, 60%91%23Open
3084642.8 in2001, 61%90%19Open
3084742.9 in2001, 63%90%20Open
3084843.4 in2001, 65%89%22Open
3114546.6 in2001, 61%91%22Open
3114643.2 in2001, 62%89%22Open
3114743.0 in2001, 63%88%22Open
3144541.6 in2001, 64%90%24Open
3144641.5 in2001, 64%88%23Open
3144742.9 in2001, 64%86%22Open

And 3 more grids: 31745, 31746, 31747. Each opens in the calculator.

PRF dates for 2027

  • Dec 1, 2026: sales closing. New policies and changes are due at your agent.
  • Dec 1, 2026: acreage report.
  • Sep 1, 2027: premium billed, no earlier than this.

From 2027, grazing acres need livestock you have an interest in, equal to at least 25% of the stocking rate, or no payment is due and the premium is still owed. PRF pays on the grid’s precipitation index, not on your production. How PRF works · Before you sign · PRF in Maine

PRF questions in Penobscot County

When is the PRF deadline in Penobscot County for 2027?

The sales closing date is Dec 1, 2026, the same across the country. The acreage report is due Dec 1, 2026, and the premium is billed no earlier than Sep 1, 2027.

Which PRF grid is Penobscot County in?

Grids 29643, 29644, 29645, 29646, 29943, 29944, 29945, 29946, 29947, 30243, 30244, 30245, 30246, 30247, 30248, 30545, 30546, 30547, 30548, 30549, 30845, 30846, 30847, 30848, 31145, 31146, 31147, 31445, 31446, 31447, 31745, 31746, 31747 touch Penobscot County. A grid is a quarter degree of latitude by a quarter degree of longitude, about 17 miles north to south. Your grid follows from a point inside the acres you insure; type a ZIP or coordinates in the calculator to find it.

How much does PRF cost per acre in Penobscot County?

It depends on the grid, the months, the coverage level and your productivity factor. USDA’s 2027 county base value is $43.10 an acre for grazing, $223.00 for non-irrigated hay. At 90% coverage and a productivity factor of 100, grazing land is protected for $38.79 an acre, and the full premium runs $8.64 to $11.72 per $100 of protection depending on the months, on the middle grid. USDA pays 51% to 59% of the premium. In the example above, 100 acres of grazing at 90% with half in April to May and half in June to July, you pay $1.98 an acre on grid 30545. The calculator gives the figure for your acres and months.

How often has PRF paid in Penobscot County?

At 90% coverage a pair of months pays when the index comes in under 90% of normal. Over 1951 to 2025, on the middle grid, that happened in 31 to 34 of 75 years, depending on the months. Run at 2027 rates, $1 of full premium at 90% would have paid back a middle $0.87 across the county’s grids and months. That is the past record, not a forecast.

By Sigurd Lindquist, a Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) who owns a licensed crop insurance agency. This page sells no insurance and asks for no contact details. Figures from USDA RMA’s 2027 Actuarial Data Master and PRF index record, read Oct 12, 2026. The index record is what USDA publishes for 2027; policies in past years were paid on their own rates and data.

PRF in Maine · Penobscot County in the Farmland Atlas · ARC or PLC in Penobscot County · PRF calculator

Rain so far this year in Maine, county by county