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

PRF insurance in South Carolina: 2027 county values and rates

Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) is USDA’s rainfall-index insurance for grazing land and hay ground. USDA’s 2027 files offer it in 46 South Carolina counties, on 155 grids. The policy pays when precipitation in the grid over two months you choose comes in under a set share of normal.

Open the PRF calculator for South Carolina

Counties with PRF
46
Grids
155
Grazing, county base value per acre
$49.90 $45.40 to $69.60
Hay, non-irrigated, per acre
$231.00 $211.00 to $323.00
January to February cap
25%
Sign-up deadline
Dec 1, 2026

The first figure is the middle county; the small ones are the lowest and highest. Protection per acre is the county value times your coverage level times a productivity factor of 60 to 150.

What each pair of months costs in South Carolina

At 90% coverage, across the 155 grids that touch a South Carolina county with PRF. 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%.

Each pair of months in South Carolina at 90% coverage, middle grid
MonthsNormal precipitation, middle gridPremium per $100, middle gridYears under 90% of normal, of 75, middle gridGrids offered
January to February7.39 in$11.9832155
February to March7.68 in$11.2132155
March to April7.20 in$12.4430155
April to May6.87 in$12.1332155
May to June8.47 in$10.3231155
June to July10.04 in$10.5631155
July to August10.38 in$10.2032155
August to September9.20 in$10.7430155
September to October7.28 in$16.7336155
October to November5.96 in$20.6738155
November to December6.31 in$15.2435155

Across South Carolina’s grids, $1 of full premium at 90% coverage would have paid back a middle $0.87 over 1951 to 2025 at 2027 rates (1,705 grid and month pairs), close to the national middle of $0.87. On the full premium, no month or grid stands out. The months to insure are the ones when a dry spell costs you grass or hay.

PRF in every South Carolina county

USDA’s county base value per acre for 2027, the number of grids that touch the county, and the most of a policy that can go in January to February. A county’s name opens its page with the grids and their record; Open sets acres, months and coverage in the calculator.

PRF county base values in every South Carolina county, 2027
CountyGridsGrazingHay, non-irrigatedJan-Feb capCalculator
Abbeville6$69.60$323.0025%Open
Aiken12$69.60$323.0025%Open
Allendale7$45.40$211.0025%Open
Anderson9$64.40$298.0025%Open
Bamberg4$45.40$211.0025%Open
Barnwell7$45.40$211.0025%Open
Beaufort9$45.40$211.0025%Open
Berkeley14$45.40$211.0025%Open
Calhoun8$49.90$231.0025%Open
Charleston11$45.40$211.0025%Open
Cherokee6$64.40$298.0025%Open
Chester6$59.10$274.0025%Open
Chesterfield11$48.50$225.0025%Open
Clarendon9$49.90$231.0025%Open
Colleton14$45.40$211.0025%Open
Darlington9$48.50$225.0025%Open
Dillon6$48.50$225.0025%Open
Dorchester8$45.40$211.0025%Open
Edgefield6$69.60$323.0025%Open
Fairfield9$59.10$274.0025%Open
Florence8$48.50$225.0025%Open
Georgetown10$48.50$225.0025%Open
Greenville10$64.40$298.0025%Open
Greenwood8$69.60$323.0025%Open
Hampton7$45.40$211.0025%Open
Horry11$48.50$225.0025%Open
Jasper8$45.40$211.0025%Open
Kershaw9$59.10$274.0025%Open
Lancaster8$59.10$274.0025%Open
Laurens11$64.40$298.0025%Open
Lee6$49.90$231.0025%Open
Lexington10$49.90$231.0025%Open
Marion11$48.50$225.0025%Open
Marlboro7$48.50$225.0025%Open
Mccormick7$69.60$323.0025%Open
Newberry7$69.60$323.0025%Open
Oconee10$64.40$298.0025%Open
Orangeburg13$49.90$231.0025%Open
Pickens7$64.40$298.0025%Open
Richland9$49.90$231.0025%Open
Saluda6$69.60$323.0025%Open
Spartanburg7$64.40$298.0025%Open
Sumter10$49.90$231.0025%Open
Union8$64.40$298.0025%Open
Williamsburg10$48.50$225.0025%Open
York6$59.10$274.0025%Open

What changed in PRF for 2027

  • A new precipitation record. From the 2027 crop year the index comes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) in place of the Climate Prediction Center. The grids did not move (USDA RMA, April 30, 2026). USDA’s 2027 record starts in 1951, and every past year on this page and in the calculator is from it.
  • January to February is capped at 25%. No more than 25% of a policy’s value can go in that interval (RMA bulletin PM-26-053). USDA’s 2027 files set that cap in all 46 South Carolina counties.
  • Grazing land needs livestock on it. Acres insured for grazing need livestock you have an insurable interest in, equal to at least 25% of an average stocking rate for those acres, with the records kept three years (PM-26-053). RMA’s stocking rate questions: “Failure means no indemnity is due and full premium is owed” (RMA). Hay ground is not under this rule.

PRF dates for 2027

  • Dec 1, 2026: sales closing. New policies and changes are due at your agent.
  • Dec 1, 2026: acreage report, with any lease signed and in hand.
  • Sep 1, 2027: premium billed, no earlier than this. Premium owed comes out of any payment first.

USDA’s share of the premium needs form AD-1026 on file with the Farm Service Agency. PRF pays on a precipitation index for the grid, not on your production. How PRF works · Before you sign · New for 2027 · How payouts compare with the premium

PRF questions in South Carolina

When is the PRF deadline in South Carolina 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.

How much does PRF cost per acre in South Carolina?

It depends on the grid, the months, the coverage level and the county’s value. USDA’s county base value for grazing land in South Carolina runs from $45.40 to $69.60 an acre, and for non-irrigated hay from $211.00 to $323.00. USDA pays 51% to 59% of the premium. The calculator gives the figure for your grid, acres and months.

Is PRF offered in every South Carolina county?

USDA’s 2027 files list PRF in 46 South Carolina counties, across 155 grids. Each county row in the table above opens the calculator on that county.

What changed in PRF for 2027?

Three things. The precipitation index now comes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information in place of the Climate Prediction Center, on the same grids, with a record that starts in 1951. January to February is capped at 25% of a policy’s value, in all 46 South Carolina counties. And grazing acres need livestock you have an interest in, equal to at least 25% of an average stocking rate, or no payment is due and the full premium is still owed.

Has PRF paid more than it cost in South Carolina?

On the full premium, about the same as everywhere: across South Carolina’s grids at 90% coverage, $1 of premium would have paid back a middle $0.87 over 1951 to 2025 at 2027 rates, close to the national middle of $0.87. That average is made of a few big years and many small or empty ones, and none of it says what next year will do.