Crop insurance is the cornerstone of the farm safety net, insuring farms for losses from unpredictable weather, market fluctuations, and other risks. Consequently, the federal crop insurance program (FCIP) is the costliest part of agriculture production spending, as taxpayers subsidize the program to the tune of billions of dollars each year. Despite being a cornerstone […]
RMA
Digging into the House Farm Bill: Part 3
This is the third post in a multi-part blog series analyzing the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 (FFNSA), which was reported out of the House Committee on Agriculture on Friday, May 24. This post provides a deep-dive analysis of the bill’s potential impacts on the farm safety net, farmers’ ability to access land and capital, fair competition, and treatment of food workers. … Read More →
Find a Crop Insurance Agent Who Sells Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Near You
The USDA’s RMA has released a directory of crop insurance agents specializing in Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP), aiding farmers in finding agents experienced in selling policies tailored to smaller, diversified operations. This resource, which NSAC has advocated for, aims to address the challenge of locating knowledgeable agents and is part of broader efforts to improve and expand WFRP through legislative initiatives like the WFRP Improvement Act…. Read More →
RFA Roundup: Spring 2024 Sustainable Agriculture Funding Opportunities
USDA has announced several funding opportunities for sustainable agriculture. This blog post outlines the funding guidelines, application deadlines, and program requirements for a range of food and farm system grants funded through USDA that are currently accepting applications. The funding opportunities fall into three categories: Research and Education, Local Food (including urban and rural-focused programs) and Nutrition, Climate, Conservation, and Energy…. Read More →
Release: USDA Updates Good Farming Practice Definition, Strengthening Support for Conservation Practice Adoption
USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced important updates to the definition of Good Farming Practices (GFPs), removing a longstanding obstacle to the adoption of Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)-approved conservation practices and enhancements for insured producers. … Read More →
DON’T HARM CROP INSURANCE, IMPROVE IT!
Barriers in program design and implementation leave small and nonconventional farmers without access to crop insurance…. Read More →
Big Wins on Whole-Farm Revenue Protection
The Risk Management Agency (RMA) recently announced significant changes to improve the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) program…. Read More →
$300 Million Invested into New Organic Transition Initiative
The Organic Transition Initiative (OTI) is USDA’s recent program aimed at helping “build new and better markets and streams of income” for organic farmers and producers, by providing producers with technical assistance, including farmer-to-farmer mentoring, financial assistance for conservation and crop insurance, and support developing markets. … Read More →
Comment: NSAC Applauds USDA Investment in New Organic Transition Initiative
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) issued a comment applauding today’s announcement of an up to $300 million investment into the new Organic Transition Initiative. … Read More →
Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Analysis: A Few Bad Apples
Due to complicated rules, farmer skepticism, and insurance agent disinterest, the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) program is not performing near its optimal potential. … Read More →
Important Emergency USDA Changes for Farm Loans and Crop Insurance
With the ongoing pandemic sweeping throughout the country, farmers who are just ahead of spring planting are already feeling the impacts on their farms and in their communities of price volatility, labor shortages, lack of rural healthcare facilities, and dwindling or ever changing markets. And while NSAC has been pushing Congress to do more to […]
$9 Million in Funding Available for Risk Management Training
This week, USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced the availability of nearly $9 million to support risk management farmer education grants. Funded projects will be awarded through two distinct but related RMA grant programs: the Risk Management Education Partnership Program (RMEP) and the Crop Insurance in Targeted States (TS) program. Additional details on each funding […]
Progress on Organic Insurance Options and Data Collection
According to two recent reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to Congress, the Department is making some significant progress in their effort to increase the availability of data on organic production as well as the availability of insurance options for organic producers. Quality production data and the expansion of insurance options are inexorably […]
Unified Support for Conservation as Good Farming Practice Needed at USDA
Every farmer with crop insurance knows they need to comply with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Good Farming Practices (GFP) standard in order to maintain their coverage. Under guidelines established by USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), farmers must undertake all the “generally recognized practices” that will give their crops the best chance to reach […]
Have Access Improvements to the Federal Crop Insurance Program Gone Far Enough?
If you’re an onion farmer in Louisiana or a blueberry farmer in Iowa, the answer is most likely – no. The Federal Crop Insurance Program has gone through a host of changes since 2000 (the last time Congress passed a major stand-alone overhaul of the program), including several as part of the 2014 Farm Bill, […]
Inter-Agency Blockages Threaten to Halt Further Progress on Organic Crop Insurance
Editor’s Note: For more information on the state of organic agriculture, see this article’s sister post: “Consumer Sentiment and Supply Scalability Will Determine Future of Organic Price Premiums“ In just one year’s time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) has more than doubled the number of organic crops that are able to […]
$8.7 Million Available for Risk Management Education and Targeted States Programs
The Federal Crop Insurance Program, managed by the Risk Management Agency (RMA), provides subsidized coverage through private insurance companies to over $100 billion worth of agricultural products across 298 million acres. Despite a seemingly high level of farmer participation overall, many underserved, organic, diversified, and specialty crop farmers lack information about and access to insurance […]
Can USDA Support for Transitioning Organic Crops Spur the Market?
Interest in organic products has boomed over the last several years, between 2004 and 2016 sales of organic food more than tripled (from $11.1 billion to $39 billion), but farmers are finding it difficult to keep up with demand. Part of this difficulty stems from the time and expense of transitioning farmland from conventional to […]
Grant Opportunity: Community Outreach and Assistance for Risk Management
Today’s federal register announced the availability of $2.5 million in grants for the Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) Community Outreach and Assistance Partnership Program and $1.1 million for Commodity Partnerships for Small Agricultural Risk Management Education Sessions. The Community Outreach and Assistance Partnership Program targets limited resource, socially disadvantaged and other traditionally underserved producers with training, […]