News
WASHINGTON, July 10, 2015 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that over 98.2 percent of producers have met the 2014 Farm Bill requirement to certify conservation compliance to qualify for crop insurance premium support payments.
Implementing the 2014 Farm Bill provisions for conservation compliance is expected to extend conservation provisions for an additional 1.5 million acres of highly erodible lands and 1.1 million acres of wetlands, which will reduce soil erosion, enhance water quality, and create wildlife habitat.
"This overwhelming response is a product of USDA's extensive outreach and the commitment of America's farmers to be stewards of the land," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "By investing in both American farmers and the…
WASHINGTON, July 8, 2015 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) today announced the availability of a new crop insurance coverage option that provides producers with coverage against an unexpected decrease in their operating margin. Starting in the 2016 crop year, the new margin protection plan will be available in addition to underlying crop insurance policies in select counties starting for corn, rice, soybeans, and spring wheat.
The plan provides coverage that is based on an expected margin, which is the expected area revenue minus the expected area operating costs, for each applicable crop, type and practice. Margin protection is area-based coverage and may not necessarily reflect a producer’s individual experience. The margin…
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2015 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) today announced the availability of $7 million in grants to create risk management education and training programs. The programs would provide organizations with resources to develop training and education tools to help farmers and ranchers effectively manage long-term risks and challenges.
“Education and training are essential tools for farmers of all sizes and operations to help manage risk,” said RMA Associate Administrator Mike Alston. “Through these grants and the crop insurance program, we are ensuring that our farmers can succeed even after tough years.”
Through these partnerships, producers will receive assistance in understanding and using…
WASHINGTON, June 12, 2015 – The U. S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) today announced the expansion of crop insurance options to provide relief to farmers affected by severe weather, including drought and excess moisture. Information made available today broadens options for farmers who elect the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) or the Actual Production History (APH) Yield Exclusion.
Producers also have access to new online tools designed to help them determine the options that work best for their operations. The Crop Insurance Decision Tool and the SCO/APH Yield Exclusion mapping tool, available on RMA’s website, provide farmers with information on APH Yield Exclusion and SCO eligible crops, crop years, and counties…
RALEIGH, N.C., May 13, 2015 — The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) reminds all Maryland producers that they need to have their Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification form (AD-1026) on file with their local USDA service center by June 1, 2015. The 2014 Farm Bill required all producers have the form on file by the June 1 deadline to become or remain eligible for crop insurance premium support.
“Most producers already have a certification form on file, however, some such as fruit and vegetable producers and others who are new to crop insurance or who may not participate in other USDA programs…
WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2015 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing changes to existing regulations in order to expand crop insurance to farmers who currently don’t have coverage available for their crops, including many fruit and vegetable growers. The proposed rule will improve the submission process for insurance policies to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC). The changes will ease the burden on private submitters, while making crop insurance policies for underserved and specialty commodities a priority.
The proposed rule was announced in the Federal Register today. Many of the recommended changes address provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill that were meant to expand the farm safety net options for modern agricultural practices.
The Federal…
DAVIS, Calif., Feb. 6, 2015 — USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) reminds California producers that the final date to apply for the new Whole-Farm Revenue Protection insurance policy is February 28, 2015. Whole-Farm Revenue Protection is available for the 2015 crop year in Butte, Fresno, Kern, Mendocino, Monterey, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Sonoma, Tulare, Yolo, Yuba, and Ventura counties.
The policy allows producers to insure between 50 to 85 percent of their whole-farm revenue and makes crop insurance more affordable for producers, including fruit and vegetable growers and organic farmers and ranchers. It allows these growers to insure a variety of crops at once instead of one commodity at a time. That gives them the option…
WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2015 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture reminds producers that they must sign up for the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) and Stacked Income Protection Plan for Upland Cotton (STAX) before the sales closing dates for eligible 2015 Spring crops. The sales closing dates may be as early as Jan. 31, 2015, for certain crops and counties. However, the sales closing date for the majority of spring crops is March 15, 2015.
A provision of the 2014 Farm Bill, SCO is a county-level policy endorsement that covers a portion of the producer’s deductible of their underlying multi-peril crop insurance policy. SCO is available for corn, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, spring barley, spring wheat, and winter wheat in select counties for the 2015 crop…
Whole-farm revenue protection combines and enhances two popular and well-known plans of insurance, Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) and Adjusted Gross Revenue-Lite (AGR-Lite). Policy enhancements include an expanded range of coverage levels, coverage for replanting, provisions that increase coverage for expanding operations, a higher maximum amount of coverage and the inclusion of market…
WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2014 –– The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced program details related to a new Farm Bill initiative that will provide relief to farmers affected by severe weather, including drought. Information made available today includes eligible crops, crop years, and counties where producers are eligible to exclude certain yields under the Actual Production History (APH) Yield Exclusion, a fact sheet, and a list of frequently asked questions.
The APH Yield Exclusion will be available in the actuarial documents beginning in the 2015 crop year for spring planted corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, barley, canola, sunflowers, peanuts, and popcorn. It will allow eligible producers who have been hit with…