News

WASHINGTON, October 24, 2019 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said today that producers who currently participate in Federal crop insurance and are experiencing a delay in harvesting their crop should contact their Approved Insurance Provider (AIP) to file a Notice of Loss and request more time to harvest.

Producers in several states, including Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, have been affected by extremely wet and snowy conditions early this fall.

“Farmers are having a hard time with weather this year, and this early fall snow is just another example of this year’s weather challenges,” said Martin Barbre, Administrator of USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA). “Impacted producers…

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2019 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that producers currently participating in federal crop insurance who had in 2019 a payable prevented planting indemnity related to flooding, excess moisture or causes other than drought will automatically receive a “top-up” payment. Producers will receive the payment from their Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) starting in mid-October.

Producers with Yield Protection and Revenue Protection with Harvest Price Exclusion will receive a 10 percent top-up payment on their indemnity, while producers with Revenue Protection Harvest Price Option will receive 15 percent. They do not need to sign up to receive payments; all producers with a 2019 prevented planting…

WASHINGTON, August 30, 2019 — USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) has made several updates to the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) policy for the 2020 policy year that expand safety net options and flexibility for agricultural producers. The 2018 Farm Bill triggered updates to WFRP, a popular insurance policy among specialty crop and organic growers.

“There has been some confusion about how WFRP interplays with other federal disaster programs and indemnity payments, and we’ve added new provisions to address these concerns,” said RMA Administrator Martin Barbre. “The WFRP policy is an important product for producers of any crop, but particularly for growers of less traditional crops. We’re excited to offer these improvements.”

WFRP allows coverage of all…

WASHINGTON, August 27, 2019 — Certain industrial hemp growers will be able to obtain insurance coverage under the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) program for crop year 2020. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) today announced coverage for hemp grown for fiber, flower or seeds, which will be available to producers who are in areas covered by USDA-approved hemp plans or who are part of approved state or university research pilot programs.

“Numerous producers are anxious for a way to protect their hemp crops from natural disasters,” said RMA Administrator Martin Barbre. “The WFRP policy will provide a safety net for them. We expect to be able to offer additional hemp coverage options as USDA continues implementing the 2018 Farm Bill.”
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WASHINGTON, August 23, 2019 — Bill Northey, USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, issued the following statement on crop insurance liability for farmers impacted by the collapse of the Ft Laramie irrigation tunnel:

“USDA has worked with local, state, and federal partners over the past month as they investigated the cause of the Ft. Laramie irrigation tunnel failure, which affected many Nebraska and Wyoming farmers. After reviewing preliminary assessments by the Department of the Interior and the National Weather Service, it has been determined that the cause of the collapse was weather related. Based on that, USDA’s Risk Management Agency has notified its crop insurance providers that losses stemming from the canal failure…

WASHINGTON, D.C. August 15, 2019 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) today announced it will defer accrual of interest for all agricultural producers’ spring 2019 crop year insurance premiums to help the wide swath of farmers and ranchers affected by extreme weather in 2019. Specifically, USDA will defer the accrual of interest on spring 2019 crop year insurance premiums to the earlier of the applicable termination date or for two months, until November 30, for all policies with a premium billing date of August 15, 2019. For any premium that is not paid by one of those new deadlines, interest will accrue consistent with the terms of the policy. 

“USDA recognizes that farmers and ranchers have been severely affected by the extreme…

WASHINGTON, July 10, 2019 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is extending the deadline for agricultural producers in states impacted by flooding and heavy moisture. The new July 22 deadline applies to producers in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin for reporting spring-seeded crops to USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) county offices and crop insurance agents.

“These are challenging times for farmers, and we are here to help,” said Bill Northey, USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation. “This deadline extension is part of our broader effort to increase program flexibility and reduce overall regulatory burden for producers who are having to…

WASHINGTON DC, June 28, 2019 – The 2018 Farm Bill mandated changes to the treatment of cover crops for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs, which add more flexibility to when cover crops must be terminated while remaining eligible for crop insurance. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) developed new guidelines and policy provisions to enact these changes, which will be available beginning with the 2020 crop year.

“USDA is working to quickly implement the 2018 Farm Bill to better serve our customers,” said Bill Northey, USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation. “These new guidelines are not being issued as a result of the current nationwide…

WASHINGTON, June 20, 2019 – Farmers who planted cover crops on prevented plant acres will be permitted to hay, graze or chop those fields earlier than November this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) adjusted the 2019 final haying and grazing date from November 1 to September 1 to help farmers who were prevented from planting because of flooding and excess rainfall this spring.

“We recognize farmers were greatly impacted by some of the unprecedented flooding and excessive rain this spring, and we made this one-year adjustment to help farmers with the tough decisions they are facing this year,” said Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey. “This change will…

May 24, 2019 – USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) reminds producers who have federal crop insurance coverage and are unable to plant a crop because of flooding or excess moisture to contact their crop insurance agent to discuss available prevented planting options. Crop insurance agents can discuss available options on when and how to file a claim related to prevented planting.

Eric Bashore, Director of RMA’s Billings Regional Office, urges producers who are unable to plant their crop by the Final Planting Date or who need to replant acreage to contact their crop insurance agent. Producers who are prevented from planting because of an insurable cause of loss must provide notice within 72 hours after the Final Planting…