The Agriculture Department announced Tuesday that the new Supplemental Coverage Option known as SCO will be available for corn, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, spring barley, spring wheat, and winter wheat in selected counties for the 2015 crop year.

The program, which was created in the 2014 farm bill, is designed to help protect producers from yield and market volatility.

SCO is a county-level policy endorsement that is in addition to an underlying crop insurance policy, and covers a portion of losses not covered by the same crop's underlying policy, USDA noted in a news release.

Producers who elect to participate in Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) offered by the Farm Service Agency are not eligible for SCO for the crop and farm participating in ARC.

Producers applying for SCO for the 2015 winter wheat crop may withdraw coverage on any farm where they have elected, or where they intend to elect, ARC for winter wheat by the earlier of their acreage reporting date or December 15, without penalty. This allows producers additional time to make a decision on whether to participate in the ARC or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for their winter wheat.

If producers withdraw SCO coverage for a farm by the earlier of their acreage reporting date or December 15, they will not be charged a crop insurance premium. In order to withdraw coverage without penalty, producers must notify their agents of their intended election for ARC by the earlier of their winter wheat acreage reporting date or December 15.

▪ USDA Risk Management Agency — Supplemental Coverage Option for Federal Crop Insurance Fact Sheet
▪ — Supplemental Coverage Option Endorsement Standards Handbook
▪ — Supplemental Coverage Option Endorsement
▪ — Crop Year 2015 Supplemental Coverage Option Availability for Wheat