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

PRF insurance in Chaves County, New Mexico: 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 Chaves County on 38 grids: 15099, 15100, 15101, 15399, 15400, 15401, 15402, 15403, 15404, 15405, 15699, 15700, 15701, 15702, 15703, 15704, 15705, 16001, 16002, 16003, 16004, 16005, 16006, 16301, 16302, 16303, 16304, 16305, 16306, 16601, 16602, 16603, 16604, 16605, 16606, 16901, 16904, 16905. 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
38
Grazing, county base value per acre
$8.40
Hay, non-irrigated, per acre
$139.00
Hay, irrigated, per acre
$45.00
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 $7.56 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 16005, the middle of the county’s 38 grids by premium. The full premium is $185: USDA pays $95 and you pay $90, or $0.90 an acre. Run over 1951 to 2025 at 2027 rates, it would have paid in 53 of 75 years, an average of $162 a year, or $1.62 an acre. That is the past record, not a forecast, and it leaves out the administrative fee.

What each pair of months costs in Chaves County

At 90% coverage, across the 38 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 Chaves County, New Mexico at 90% coverage
MonthsNormalPremium per $100Years under 90%
Jan-Feb0.84 in$32.95
$25.02–35.19		41
37–46
Feb-Mar0.84 in$34.44
$23.70–37.43		45
38–49
Mar-Apr0.92 in$34.91
$27.66–38.48		41
36–45
Apr-May1.50 in$29.62
$24.11–33.34		39
33–43
May-Jun2.43 in$23.71
$20.13–28.72		40
37–45
Jun-Jul3.66 in$19.64
$13.86–25.72		34
31–40
Jul-Aug4.55 in$15.37
$9.45–19.11		33
27–36
Aug-Sep4.22 in$18.96
$13.65–22.99		37
30–43
Sep-Oct3.39 in$24.11
$20.11–28.01		39
35–44
Oct-Nov1.90 in$33.95
$30.23–37.30		44
40–48
Nov-Dec1.02 in$35.61
$30.33–37.96		42
38–46

The wettest pair of months here is July to August (4.55 in on the middle grid) and the driest is January to February (0.84 in). Coverage costs least in July to August and most in November to December. 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 Chaves 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, Chaves County, New Mexico
Months202120222023202420252026
so far
Jan-Feb61168010046154
Feb-Mar4124148767
Mar-Apr671643811721
Apr-May15544827154125
May-Jun1981045666166131
Jun-Jul175944211214268
Jul-Aug129100588287—
Aug-Sep8693924384—
Sep-Oct37100945578—
Oct-Nov171976217965—
Nov-Dec81068720443—

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

PRF grids in Chaves 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%.

PRF grids in Chaves County, New Mexico
GridNormal, yearDriest year2025Years under 90%Calculator
1509915.8 in2003, 51%80%27Open
1510014.1 in2003, 47%81%30Open
1510113.2 in2011, 45%86%31Open
1539916.7 in2003, 53%81%25Open
1540014.2 in2003, 46%82%27Open
1540113.0 in2011, 46%84%32Open
1540212.3 in2011, 47%90%30Open
1540312.2 in1964, 45%95%29Open
1540413.2 in2020, 43%96%27Open
1540514.3 in2011, 40%96%29Open
1569916.3 in2003, 51%78%24Open
1570014.3 in2003, 42%82%27Open
1570112.8 in2003, 43%87%28Open
1570212.1 in1956, 44%94%30Open
1570312.2 in1956, 42%97%30Open
1570413.1 in2011, 44%98%30Open
1570514.5 in2020, 40%97%34Open
1600112.1 in2003, 40%92%28Open
1600211.7 in1956, 37%99%31Open
1600312.3 in1956, 32%103%29Open
1600413.1 in1956, 31%103%29Open
1600514.6 in2020, 37%98%31Open
1600615.7 in2020, 38%89%32Open
1630112.0 in1956, 44%97%29Open
1630211.8 in1956, 35%105%29Open
1630312.3 in1956, 29%107%27Open
1630413.3 in1956, 31%106%28Open
1630514.4 in2020, 36%99%34Open
1630615.8 in2020, 39%90%31Open
1660112.3 in1956, 46%111%30Open

And 8 more grids: 16602, 16603, 16604, 16605, 16606, 16901, 16904, 16905. 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 New Mexico

PRF questions in Chaves County

When is the PRF deadline in Chaves 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 Chaves County in?

Grids 15099, 15100, 15101, 15399, 15400, 15401, 15402, 15403, 15404, 15405, 15699, 15700, 15701, 15702, 15703, 15704, 15705, 16001, 16002, 16003, 16004, 16005, 16006, 16301, 16302, 16303, 16304, 16305, 16306, 16601, 16602, 16603, 16604, 16605, 16606, 16901, 16904, 16905 touch Chaves 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 Chaves County?

It depends on the grid, the months, the coverage level and your productivity factor. USDA’s 2027 county base value is $8.40 an acre for grazing, $139.00 for non-irrigated hay. At 90% coverage and a productivity factor of 100, grazing land is protected for $7.56 an acre, and the full premium runs $15.37 to $35.61 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 $0.90 an acre on grid 16005. The calculator gives the figure for your acres and months.

How often has PRF paid in Chaves 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 33 to 45 of 75 years, depending on the months. Run at 2027 rates, $1 of full premium at 90% would have paid back a middle $0.88 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 New Mexico · Chaves County in the Farmland Atlas · ARC or PLC in Chaves County · PRF calculator

Rain so far this year in New Mexico, county by county