His Story

Larry Bonifas farms a 1,300 acre operation with help from his father and his landlord. 48 years old and married with three daughters, he grows corn, soybeans and wheat. In addition to the crops, he also runs a cattle operation with his younger brother – feeding 950 steers.  He got into farming because his dad farmed part-time.

This year, when Larry was considering increasing his federal crop insurance coverage and looking at the costs associated with getting to a higher level, his insurance agent recommended that he consider Total Weather Insurance (TWI). Trying it out on 500 acres of corn, he says, “I guess this would have been a good year to take it out on more than 500 acres!”  

To get up to the level of insurance where Larry felt comfortable this year, he would have had to pay a higher premium with MPCI. Rather than pay those premiums, he opted to give TWI a shot to see how it helped him perform.  He’s been pleased already this season knowing that with the tough weather he’s going to get some monetary help to cover his yield loss.

Larry feels like the last five years the weather has really been tough.  “It’s enough to drive you crazy.  With extreme weather, we just don’t get a break because we’re constantly hustling to get tilled and planted and harvested – everything is getting pushed. But, the one bright spot is that thanks to TWI, if that tough, wet fall comes along – we’ll get paid!”

Using TWI as a supplement to what he receives with MPCI, he’s pleased that there is less paperwork and no adjustors involved in the process, and that he can track the status online. “When you buy insurance, you hope you don’t have to use it, but it’s been refreshing to see how easily TWI works – there is no grey area. With TWI – it’s just cut and dry.”

When the Early Season Rain component of his TWI policy paid out automatically, he had already started looking at renting a piece of equipment that would dry out his soil – a vertical tillage tool. Once he knew that he’d receive payment from TWI he was in a position to purchase the machine, enabling him to use it on 650 acres and to get corn planted two days earlier than if he had opted for a no-till method.

“The weather is always working against you, but when things are not looking good, I can look at my TWI coverage and know it isn’t all bad. Every once in a while I make great decisions.”