06.26.20

Hoeven Statement on Improvements to Malting Barley Endorsement for Federal Crop Insurance

BISMARCK, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) and Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors approved changes to the malting barley endorsement for federal crop insurance. Hoeven raised the issue to USDA officials, including RMA Administrator Martin Barbre, and urged the improvement after hearing from North Dakota producers.

“Utilizing the local market price for barley will help ensure fair compensation for malting barley,” said Hoeven. “We appreciate the FCIC and RMA Administrator Barbre for making this adjustment, which will ensure that this specific crop insurance policy reflects the actual prices producers are receiving, ensuring our producers are compensated accurately.” 

Hoeven has been working with the North Dakota Barley Council, North Dakota Grain Growers Association and RMA to improve the malting barley endorsement and urged this change to ensure fair compensation for malting barley rejected due to quality loss. The malting barley endorsement provides quality loss coverage for growers that produce malting barley under contract. However, RMA utilized a price for feed barley derived from Chicago Board of Trade corn futures, which does not accurately reflect the local market price at which the grower sells the rejected product. The derived price is often higher than the local market price, resulting in a lower indemnity payment. The change to local market price will begin with the 2021 crop year. 

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