07.07.20

Hoeven: RMA Announces New Quality Loss Option for Crop Insurance Policies

BISMARCK, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) issued improvements to crop insurance policies for producers, including a new Quality Loss Option. RMA was required to develop the option by the 2018 Farm Bill, for which Hoeven served as a conference committee member. The new option allows producers to use pre-quality production amounts for their annual production histories, increasing their actual yields for individual crop years.

“Crop insurance is the primary risk management tool for many producers, which is why we focused on maintaining this program in the 2018 Farm Bill,” said Hoeven. “The new Quality Loss Option gives greater flexibility to producers and enables them to protect their crop insurance guarantee against low quality. Considering the impacts that North Dakota’s farmers have faced from severe weather in recent years, this is an important addition, and we encourage our producer groups to give their feedback to RMA.”

RMA is accepting comments on the change through August 28.

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