News
WASHINGTON, July 13, 2021 – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is authorizing emergency procedures to help agricultural producers impacted by extreme drought conditions. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is working with crop insurance companies to streamline and accelerate the adjustment of losses and issuance of indemnity payments to crop insurance policyholders in impacted areas.
These new crop insurance flexibilities are part of USDA’s broader response to help producers impacted by drought, in the West, Northern Great Plains, Caribbean and other areas.
“Crop insurance helps producers weather natural disasters like drought,” RMA Acting Administrator Richard Flournoy said. “We recognize the distress…
WASHINGTON, July 6, 2021 – Agricultural producers with crop insurance can hay, graze or chop cover crops for silage, haylage or baleage at any time and still receive 100% of the prevented planting payment. Previously, cover crops could only be hayed, grazed or chopped after November 1, otherwise the prevented planting payment was reduced by 65%.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) added this flexibility as part of a broader effort to encourage producers to use cover crops, an important conservation and good farming practice. Cover crops are especially important on fields prevented from planting as they help reduce soil erosion and boost soil health.
“We work diligently to ensure the Federal…
WASHINGTON, June 30, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making improvements to crop insurance to better enable agricultural producers to manage risk on their operations. Specifically, USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is adding new options for producers of dry beans, dry peas, and small grains, such as wheat, as well as making other adjustments that make crop insurance more accessible for organic producers and veteran farm families.
RMA is making these changes through three Final Rules, which posted this month on the Federal Register.
“RMA is focused on how we can make crop insurance a better risk management tool for producers,” said RMA Acting Administrator Richard Flournoy. “This month, we’re rolling out a suite of…
WASHINGTON, June 1, 2021 – Agricultural producers who have coverage under most crop insurance policies are eligible for a premium benefit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) if they planted cover crops during this crop year. The Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP), offered nationally by USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), helps farmers maintain their cover crop systems, despite the financial challenges posed by the pandemic.
The PCCP is part of USDA’s Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative, a bundle of programs to bring financial assistance to farmers, ranchers and producers who felt the impact of COVID-19 market disruptions.
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WASHINGTON, May 27, 2021 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the availability of up to $4 million for grants to support the development of urban agriculture and innovative production projects. USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (Office)…
WASHINGTON, May 17, 2021 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the availability of up to $2 million for local governments to host Community Compost and Food Waste Reduction (CCFWR) pilot projects for fiscal year 2021. The cooperative agreements support projects that develop and test strategies for planning and implementing municipal compost plans and food waste reduction plans and they are part of USDA’s broader efforts to support urban agriculture.
USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (Office) will accept applications on Grants.gov until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 16, 2021. Projects…
WASHINGTON, May 4, 2021 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced a virtual listening session for beginning farmers and ranchers to learn how COVID-19 impacted their farming operations and to get their feedback on USDA assistance. The listening session will take place on May 6, 2021, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Eastern time.
“We invite beginning farmers and ranchers to share their experiences in navigating USDA’s resources for assistance after the pandemic,” said Gloria Montaño Greene, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation.
“We need to understand what worked well and where we can improve, while deepening our understanding of how farmers were affected by the pandemic and how they are modifying their operations,” said…
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2021 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is updating livestock insurance policies to improve options for producers and to create additional opportunities for producers to participate. USDA’s Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) updates to the Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP) and Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) policies will be effective for the 2022 and succeeding crop years.
“We are always looking for ways to improve the insurance program and coverage for our producers,” said RMA Acting Administrator Richard Flournoy. “We strongly feel that these updates will benefit producers and their dairy and livestock operations in the years to come.”
Updates to DRP
DRP has been RMA’s most successful livestock product. In just its…
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) today announced that further changes to its Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) insurance plan will take effect on January 20 for crop year 2021 and succeeding crop years.
“We are always looking for feedback from producers and other stakeholders,” said RMA Administrator Martin Barbre. “These changes are a direct reflection of that feedback and will improve LRP coverage for producers in 2021 and beyond.”
The improvements to LRP include:
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2021 — In an unprecedented year, USDA staff and dairy producers across the country worked together to protect dairy operations for the 2021 production year under USDA’s risk management program options – the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC), Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP), and Livestock Gross Margin for Dairy Cattle (LGM) programs. Recent enrollment…