February 19, 2021
RMA Acting Administrator, Richard Flournoy (top); RMA Chief of Product Design, Tara Ponds (middle); and RMA Valdosta Regional Office Director, Davina Lee (bottom), present crop insurance updates to Florida farmers at a town hall hosted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, February 17, 2021.
This week has been packed full of opportunities to connect with customers, stakeholders, and counterparts.
On Wednesday, we were welcomed at a town hall hosted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Customer Service. Farmers from across the state attended the virtual event. We had a chance to inform the audience of new policies available to them and provide crop insurance updates.
I sympathize with the challenges Florida’s farmers and ranchers have been through with Hurricane Michael and other events in recent years. Clearly there is a great need for crop insurance in the region.
Of particular interest to growers in the Sunshine State is coverage of specialty crops, such as citrus and strawberries. Fortunately, specialty crops have been a real focus of RMA for the last decade. With the new Administration, there’s an emphasis on covering all the diversity of agriculture and making sure we’re reaching everyone.
After the town hall, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Nikki Fried, told me, “When faced with disaster, agriculture producers naturally turn to crop insurance,” she explained. “I appreciate RMA engaging in this two-way conversation, giving Florida’s farmers and ranchers an opportunity to share with us their thoughts on crop insurance.”
Today, I am hosting a panel on customer service as part of USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum. I am excited to be joined by one of the country’s top crop insurance agents; a farm bureau director from Sonoma County, California, which suffered terrible wildfire damage recently; and RMA Senior Underwriter, David Zanoni.
-Richard