Oakview Insurance Services writes farm and agribusiness insurance for Richvale, CA (zip code 95974) and the surrounding Butte County rice country. Mariah Davis founded Oakview in her hometown of Yuba City in 2010, and today our team of 20 dedicated insurance professionals has access to more than 100 A-rated carriers, including our core panel of 30+ direct-appointed carriers plus surplus lines and specialty markets. We have AFIS-certified and Nationwide Farm Certified agents on staff, Oakview is a member of the Butte County Farm Bureau, and we have earned 850+ five-star Google reviews. Richvale growers come to us for rice operations of every type, from conventional to certified organic and Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC), along with the dryers, storage, orchards, equipment, and crews that go with them. Request a quote or call us at (530) 674-5054.
Why Richvale Growers Choose Oakview
Richvale operations often combine conventional and organic ground, on-farm drying, and equipment shared across several parcels. Here is what we bring to that work:
- AFIS-certified and Nationwide Farm Certified agents who work with rice, orchard, and drying operations across Butte County
- Coverage set up for how organic and ROC operations differ from conventional ones, including how stored rice is valued
- Membership in the Butte County Farm Bureau
- Voted Best Agent, Best Agency, and Best Customer Service by Appeal-Democrat readers multiple times
- Bilingual service in English and Spanish for owners, managers, and field crews. Hablamos español.
- A dedicated advisor who learns your operation, not a call center. Meet our team.
Richvale and Butte County Agriculture
Richvale is often called one of the birthplaces of California rice. Developers renamed the Selby Switch rail siding “Richvale” in 1909 to sell the area as rich farmland, and settlers began arriving around 1911, including families from the Midwest. The heavy adobe clay they found would not grow the wheat and grain they knew, but it held water. Around 1,000 acres of rice went in near Richvale in 1912, the year California’s commercial rice industry took hold, and rice has defined the town ever since. By the town’s own account, the families who stayed were a stubborn bunch.
The organic chapter came later. Albert and Frances Lundberg moved from Nebraska to Richvale in 1937, after the Dust Bowl, and worked rice straw back into the soil decades before California restricted straw burning in 1991. Their sons planted 76 acres of organic brown rice in 1969. In 1973, Homer Lundberg and 53 other farmers formed California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), one of the first organic certification programs in the country and about three decades ahead of the federal National Organic Program. In 2023, Lundberg Family Farms introduced Regenerative Organic Certified rice, building on the family’s long run of organic production. Conventional, organic, and ROC acreage all remain part of the farming mix around Richvale.
Butte County’s 2025 Crop and Livestock Report put the county’s gross agricultural value at $702.7 million, up $113.7 million from 2024. English walnuts led at $178 million. Rice ranked second at $164 million, helped by about 27,000 more planted acres than the year before. Almonds came in at $144.7 million and prunes at $34.7 million. Rice covers most of the ground around Richvale, with walnuts, almonds, prunes, nursery stock, and organic grains also grown in the area.
Water, Canals, and Flood Exposure Around Richvale
Most Richvale rice is irrigated through the Western Canal Water District, formed by a landowner vote in December 1984 and covering about 67,500 acres in Butte and Glenn Counties. The canal itself dates to the Western Canal Company, which began operating in 1911, and the district now draws its Feather River supply from the Thermalito Afterbay below Oroville Dam. In the 1990s the district removed its diversion dams on Butte Creek and built a siphon so salmon could pass while deliveries continued. Rice fields flooded after harvest also give migrating ducks, geese, and shorebirds on the Pacific Flyway places to feed and rest through the winter.
On the insurance side, the district operates its own delivery system, while growers may own pumps, wells, field laterals, drainage equipment, and other infrastructure serving their ground. Ownership and maintenance responsibilities vary by property and agreement, so we start by sorting out which assets belong to you and then make sure they are valued and on the schedule. Flat, low rice ground crossed by canals and drains also raises flood and standing-water questions for shops, dryers, and stored equipment. Standard farm property policies generally exclude flood, so we check how your program treats it and walk through the options with you.
Crops and Operations We Insure in Richvale
Rice is most of the story here, but many Richvale operations run more than one enterprise. We insure Richvale-area producers and ag businesses involved in:
- Rice, including conventional, certified organic, and Regenerative Organic Certified fields
- Walnuts and almonds, including hullers
- Prunes and prune dehydrators
- Nursery stock
- Organic grains and cover crop rotations
- Custom harvesters and ag service contractors
For more detail by crop, see our rice farm insurance, walnut farm insurance, and almond farm insurance pages.
Farm Coverage for Richvale Operations
A Richvale farm program has to fit fields, buildings, equipment, and people that often span several parcels and sometimes several owners. Most programs we build include the pieces below.
Farm Property and Structures
We schedule the buildings and fixed equipment that keep the operation running:
- Farm dwellings, rental homes, and farm labor housing
- Barns, shops, equipment sheds, and storage buildings
- Rice dryers, bins, and grain storage
- Prune dehydrators and dried fruit structures
- Irrigation pumps, wells, and water delivery equipment
Farm and Agribusiness Liability
Farm liability can address covered premises and farming operations, including certain leased-ground, custom farming, and products and completed operations exposures if you dry, mill, or pack for others. Farm trucks, and equipment that travels county roads between fields, are a separate review under farm auto or commercial auto, since farm liability policies often exclude or limit vehicle and road-use exposures. A farm umbrella can add limits above eligible underlying policies, subject to its own terms and exclusions.
Equipment and Machinery
Tractors, combines, sprayers, and orchard equipment can be insured on a scheduled or blanket basis. Whether theft, fire, collision, overturn, and transportation losses are covered depends on the policy’s covered causes of loss, exclusions, deductibles, and endorsements, so we go through those with you. Equipment breakdown coverage for dryers, hullers, and dehydrators matters most at harvest, when a failure stops the whole operation.
Workers Compensation for Ag Crews
We write workers compensation for seasonal and year-round agricultural labor, including piece-rate and H-2A crews common to Butte County rice and orchard harvest. We also help growers keep job classifications accurate, manage the experience modification, and advocate on claims.
Organic and ROC Operations
Certified operations need a few extra conversations. Organic and ROC rice often carries a higher market value than conventional rice, so we review stock limits and the policy’s valuation provision to see whether it reflects that certified premium. Spray drift and chemical contamination matter in mixed farming country too. We review liability exclusions and agricultural pollution coverage options, including whether third-party drift claims may be covered. Loss of organic or ROC certification, a lower price for your crop, or contamination of your own product are separate questions, and standard farm policies may not cover them.
Rice Drying, Storage, and Processing
Once harvest is done, much of the value in a Richvale rice crop sits in dryers, bins, and warehouses. Those facilities carry building value, equipment breakdown exposure, and stored product that may be worth considerably more if it is certified organic or ROC. We review seasonal stock limits, equipment breakdown coverage for dryers and handling equipment, products liability, and coverage for other growers’ rice while it sits in your care for drying, milling, processing, or storage. The right setup depends on who owns the rice, your contracts, and the policy terms. The same approach applies to walnut and almond hullers and prune dehydrators on the orchard side.
Why an Independent Farm Agent Matters in Butte County
A captive agent represents one company. When that company tightens its farm appetite, raises rates, or declines a dryer or a block of leased acreage, the options stop there. Oakview has access to more than 100 A-rated carriers, including our core panel of 30+ direct-appointed carriers plus surplus lines and specialty markets. Our farm and agribusiness markets include Nationwide Agribusiness, Travelers Agribusiness, Liberty Mutual, Zenith Agribusiness, Chubb Agribusiness, Granwest, Philadelphia Insurance, and Capital Insurance Group (CIG), so the farm, the drying operation, and the crew can each go to a carrier that wants that business.
Switching is simpler than most growers expect. We review your current policies and equipment schedules, compare the options, and coordinate effective dates to help avoid gaps when you change carriers. We confirm the new coverage is in place before recommending you cancel anything.
What Our Farm Clients Are Saying
Oakview has earned 850+ five-star Google reviews from farm, business, and family clients across the Sacramento Valley. Growers tell us they value an advisor who learns the operation, explains the tradeoffs in plain terms, and answers the phone during harvest.
Read what our clients say on Google.
Frequently Asked Questions: Richvale Farm Insurance
Do you insure certified organic and ROC rice operations in Richvale?
Yes. We review stock limits and valuation provisions so stored organic and ROC rice is insured with its certified market premium in mind, though what a policy actually pays depends on its valuation terms. We also review drift and contamination exposure from neighboring fields. Standard farm property and pollution liability policies do not necessarily cover loss of certification or the price difference that follows, so we talk through that gap along with the standard farm property, liability, and equipment coverage.
Can you insure conventional rice and on-farm drying near Richvale?
Yes. Conventional rice operations, including on-farm dryers, bins, storage, and custom harvesting, are a regular part of our Butte County book. We structure stock coverage, equipment breakdown, products liability for drying and milling, and workers compensation for operations of every size.
How do you cover irrigation equipment tied to the Western Canal Water District?
The district operates its water delivery system. Growers may own pumps, wells, field laterals, drainage equipment, and other infrastructure serving their property, but ownership and maintenance responsibilities vary. We confirm which assets belong to you, then list and value them as part of every farm review so they are not left off the schedule or lumped into a limit that falls short.
Do Richvale farms need flood coverage?
Standard farm property policies generally exclude flood. Richvale’s rice ground is flat and crossed by canals and drains, so shops, dryers, and stored equipment can be exposed in a wet winter. Eligible farm buildings and contents may qualify for National Flood Insurance Program or private flood coverage, while mobile equipment and other farm property may need separate solutions. New NFIP policies generally carry a 30-day waiting period, with some exceptions, and private flood terms vary, so it is worth arranging before the rainy season.
Can you write workers compensation for rice harvest and orchard crews in Butte County?
Yes. We work with carriers that understand seasonal agricultural labor, piece-rate pay, and H-2A employees common to Butte County rice and orchard harvest. We also help growers manage their experience modification and advocate on claims.
Do you insure orchards and nursery stock around Richvale?
Yes. Many Richvale-area operations also farm walnuts, almonds, or prunes, or grow nursery stock. We cover the buildings, hullers, dehydrators, equipment, liability, and labor for those enterprises alongside the rice operation.
Can one advisor handle my Richvale farm, home, and vehicles?
Yes. Many Richvale clients have one advisor coordinate farm, business, home, and auto coverage so the policies work together and gaps are less likely. For home and auto details, see our Chico and Gridley insurance pages.
How do I get a farm insurance quote in Richvale?
Call our office at (530) 674-5054 or request a quote online. We will take time to learn your operation and recommend coverage built around how you farm.
Serving Richvale and Surrounding Farm Communities
We serve Richvale and nearby Butte County farm communities, including Biggs, Durham, Gridley, Nelson, and Oroville. That covers zip codes 95974 (Richvale), 95917 (Biggs), 95938 (Durham), 95948 (Gridley), 95958 (Nelson), and 95965 and 95966 (Oroville).
Nearby Oakview farm pages: Biggs, Durham, Gridley. For all of our farm programs, see our farm and agriculture insurance page.
For home, auto, and business coverage, see our Chico and Gridley insurance pages.
For local farm resources and advocacy, visit the Butte County Farm Bureau.
Drying this year’s crop in bins that were last valued five years ago? Moving ground into organic or ROC and not sure how your stored rice is insured? Adding a pump, a well, or a new shop on canal-side ground, or hiring a bigger crew for next harvest? These are the conversations we have with Richvale growers. Call us at (530) 674-5054 or use the button below to start your quote.