Crop year 2027 · sign-up deadline Dec 1, 2026
PRF insurance in Essex County, Massachusetts: 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 Essex County on 8 grids: 26936, 26937, 27235, 27236, 27237, 27238, 27536, 27537. 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
- 8
- Grazing, county base value per acre
- $46.30
- Hay, non-irrigated, per acre
- $293.00
- Hay, irrigated, per acre
- $220.00
- 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 $41.67 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 26936, the middle of the county’s 8 grids by premium. The full premium is $564: USDA pays $288 and you pay $276, or $2.76 an acre. Run over 1951 to 2025 at 2027 rates, it would have paid in 53 of 75 years, an average of $498 a year, or $4.98 an acre. That is the past record, not a forecast, and it leaves out the administrative fee.
What each pair of months costs in Essex County
At 90% coverage, across the 8 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.
| Months | Normal | Premium per $100 | Years under 90% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan-Feb | 6.98 in | $10.28 $9.94–10.54 | 28 26–31 |
| Feb-Mar | 7.48 in | $10.58 $10.14–10.89 | 33 32–36 |
| Mar-Apr | 8.17 in | $10.83 $10.44–11.75 | 31 28–35 |
| Apr-May | 7.72 in | $12.45 $11.82–13.08 | 33 31–36 |
| May-Jun | 7.31 in | $14.06 $12.65–15.57 | 37 36–39 |
| Jun-Jul | 7.13 in | $14.86 $13.45–16.22 | 37 35–38 |
| Jul-Aug | 7.11 in | $12.33 $11.72–13.33 | 34 33–37 |
| Aug-Sep | 7.13 in | $14.57 $13.14–15.92 | 38 35–41 |
| Sep-Oct | 7.79 in | $13.03 $12.28–13.59 | 33 32–34 |
| Oct-Nov | 8.36 in | $11.81 $11.30–12.06 | 31 30–33 |
| Nov-Dec | 8.58 in | $10.77 $9.95–11.38 | 30 27–32 |
The wettest pair of months here is November to December (8.58 in on the middle grid) and the driest is January to February (6.98 in). Coverage costs least in January to February and most in June to July. 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 Essex 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.
| Months | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 so far |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan-Feb | 77 | 106 | 113 | 115 | 72 | 60 |
| Feb-Mar | 70 | 92 | 81 | 127 | 93 | 62 |
| Mar-Apr | 82 | 72 | 103 | 153 | 90 | 61 |
| Apr-May | 123 | 62 | 95 | 99 | 138 | 65 |
| May-Jun | 94 | 56 | 121 | 82 | 123 | 77 |
| Jun-Jul | 193 | 59 | 184 | 62 | 59 | 99 |
| Jul-Aug | 237 | 42 | 217 | 79 | 70 | — |
| Aug-Sep | 165 | 84 | 174 | 70 | 69 | — |
| Sep-Oct | 178 | 104 | 104 | 29 | 90 | — |
| Oct-Nov | 115 | 79 | 56 | 53 | 74 | — |
| Nov-Dec | 63 | 99 | 112 | 93 | 55 | — |
Every year since 1951, priced at 2027 rates, is in the calculator.
PRF grids in Essex 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%.
| Grid | Normal, year | Driest year | 2025 | Years under 90% | Calculator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26936 | 46.8 in | 1965, 57% | 89% | 21 | Open |
| 26937 | 46.8 in | 1965, 58% | 84% | 21 | Open |
| 27235 | 45.2 in | 1965, 60% | 86% | 21 | Open |
| 27236 | 45.5 in | 1965, 61% | 82% | 19 | Open |
| 27237 | 46.1 in | 1965, 60% | 81% | 21 | Open |
| 27238 | 46.6 in | 1965, 58% | 83% | 23 | Open |
| 27536 | 45.0 in | 1965, 65% | 83% | 21 | Open |
| 27537 | 46.0 in | 1957, 64% | 79% | 22 | Open |
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 Massachusetts
PRF questions in Essex County
When is the PRF deadline in Essex 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 Essex County in?
Grids 26936, 26937, 27235, 27236, 27237, 27238, 27536, 27537 touch Essex 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 Essex County?
It depends on the grid, the months, the coverage level and your productivity factor. USDA’s 2027 county base value is $46.30 an acre for grazing, $293.00 for non-irrigated hay. At 90% coverage and a productivity factor of 100, grazing land is protected for $41.67 an acre, and the full premium runs $10.28 to $14.86 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 $2.76 an acre on grid 26936. The calculator gives the figure for your acres and months.
How often has PRF paid in Essex 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 28 to 38 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.
PRF in Massachusetts · Essex County in the Farmland Atlas · ARC or PLC in Essex County · PRF calculator