Knowing insurance needs key for farmers

Glenn County farmer and rancher Shannon Douglass has a lot of responsibilities to keep track of.

She raises beef cattle and grows sunflowers, pumpkins, corn and forage crops. She also is active in her community and serves as first vice president of the California Farm Bureau.

Early on, one topic that wasn’t top of mind was insurance. “There are things you worry about, but it wasn’t on the forefront,” Douglass said.

But insurance considerations are important for farmers and ranchers, Douglass said.

Besides insuring farming and ranching operations, Douglass also obtained a liability policy for her farm marketing, including meat sales at local farmers markets. She took advantage of roadside assistance coverage for protection on long drives from the farm. And she bought life insurance.

“I think for farmers, insurance becomes kind of paramount because it gets into the whole issue of farm succession and the ability of your kids to carry on your legacy,” Douglass said.

Nationwide provides insurance benefits for California Farm Bureau members, tailored for farms and ranches and families in agriculture. Policies can protect agricultural properties and cover things from emergency roadside assistance for farm machinery and equipment to youth organization livestock projects.

Nationwide’s Land as Your Legacy program helps with succession planning, business planning, risk management, financial independence planning and estate planning.

“I think we just have very complicated businesses,” Douglass said. “It’s important to look at the various levels of risks that we take and make sure that we’ve got protection from those risks as best as we can so that our families are taken care of, and our business thrives through the next generation.”

To learn about Nationwide products and solutions for Farm Bureau members, visit www.Nationwide.com/cfbf.