The 2024 crop-insurance harvest prices were $4.16 per bushel for corn and $10.03 per bushel for soybeans. Both were below their spring projected prices. That price decline lowered the revenue value of a crop, but it did not by itself guarantee an individual farm an indemnity: the farm’s insured production also had to fall below its policy guarantee. County-based plans use county results instead, and 2025 estimates based on released 2024 county yields indicate that supplemental coverage could have triggered in many counties. Those modeled triggers are not counts of paid claims or estimates of dollars actually paid.
2024 crop-insurance harvest prices
The harvest price is the crop-insurance price used in the policy’s revenue calculations; it is not a statement of the cash price any particular farmer received locally. For the 2024 crop, the prices and declines from spring projected prices were:
| Crop | Projected price | Harvest price | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corn | $4.66/bu | $4.16/bu | Down $0.50/bu, or 11% |
| Soybeans | $11.55/bu | $10.03/bu | Down $1.52/bu, or 13% |
These 2024 prices and percentage changes were reported by farmdoc daily authors Paulson, Schnitkey, and Zulauf on November 12, 2024. USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) price provisions define the crop-specific price components and discovery periods. An RMA bulletin dated July 1, 2024, for example, approved harvest prices for a June 1–30 discovery period; that period should not be substituted for the October discovery prices used for 2024 corn and soybeans.
Why a lower harvest price did not automatically pay an individual farm
Revenue Protection (RP) and RP with Harvest Price Exclusion (RP-HPE) are individual-farm revenue policies. In the 2024 corn and soybean examples, the harvest price was lower than the projected price, so the two products had the same revenue guarantee. The lower price reduced the revenue credited to harvested production, but an indemnity still required insured production to fall below the farm’s guarantee. A price decline alone was insufficient, even at the examples’ 85% coverage level.
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The examples use an insured yield based on Actual Production History (APH), the farm’s production record; the guarantee yield is usually based on trend-adjusted APH. The figures below are illustrative per-acre calculations, not typical outcomes, average payments, or predictions for other farms.
| Illustrative farm and coverage | Approximate trigger yield | Illustrative yield and payment |
|---|---|---|
| Corn: 215 bu/acre APH, 85% coverage | Below 204.7 bu/acre | 203 bu/acre: $7.13/acre; 191 bu/acre: $57.05/acre |
| Soybeans: 68 bu/acre APH, 85% coverage | Below 66.6 bu/acre | 65 bu/acre: $15.64/acre; 59 bu/acre: $75.82/acre |
The relevant comparison is the farm’s policy guarantee against that insured unit’s production and revenue, not the crop’s price change in isolation. A producer’s own result depends on the APH, coverage election, unit, and actual production.
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How SCO and ECO differ from individual-farm coverage
Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) and Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) are area-based options: their results are calculated using the applicable county’s yields or revenues rather than solely the insured farm’s own production. SCO covers a band down to the underlying individual policy’s coverage level. ECO covers the selected band up to 86% at its standard option or up to 95% at its higher option. The products’ coverage bands and the producer’s underlying policy therefore matter when assessing whether a county result could trigger coverage.
A county plan can trigger even when county yield is near trend because the revenue calculation also reflects the lower harvest price. In the November 2024 analysis, the authors estimated that SCO could trigger at county corn yields about 4% below expected yields and soybean yields about 1% below expected yields. These were trigger estimates, not proof that a particular county or producer received an indemnity.
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What the 2025 county-yield analysis estimated
After RMA released 2024 county yields, Paulson, Schnitkey, and Zulauf estimated in a June 17, 2025 farmdoc daily analysis how often supplemental coverage might have triggered. The national figures below are modeled shares of counties with reported yields—not shares of farmers paid, covered acres paid, or indemnity dollars.
| Crop and yield basis | 95% ECO | 90% ECO | SCO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-irrigated corn; U.S. counties with reported yields | Just over 70% | 56% | Nearly 48% |
| Soybeans; counties with reported area yields | Over 86% | Nearly 75% | Just under 65% |
For Illinois, the same analysis estimated the following county counts. Counts are not payment counts and do not indicate how many insured producers in those counties received indemnities.
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| Illinois crop | 95% ECO | 90% ECO | SCO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corn | 43 of 102 counties | 10 counties | 2 counties |
| Soybeans | 91 counties | 47 counties | 31 counties |
Do not use a state yield average or a modeled county trigger to infer an individual insured’s result. Farm experience can differ from county experience, and an area-plan result depends on the applicable county data and elected coverage band.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about indemnities actually paid
RMA’s 2024 Crop Indemnity Data PDF, dated “as of 09/09/2025,” reports summed indemnities by county, but the reviewed county totals do not separate payments by commodity or insurance plan. RMA also posts historical State/County/Crop Summary of Business files. No national actual-indemnity total for 2024 corn and soybeans split by plan is established by the figures discussed here, so the modeled county-trigger shares should not be treated as a substitute for such a total.
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What a producer needs to estimate an individual result
For a farm-specific estimate, compare like with like: the farm’s insured APH and selected individual coverage for RP or RP-HPE, or the applicable county’s yield or revenue and the coverage band for SCO or ECO. The outcome also depends on actual production or county results and the policy terms for the insured unit. Without those details, the examples and county trigger estimates cannot determine a producer’s payment. A qualified crop-insurance agent can help apply the policy and recorded production data to an individual situation.
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