The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the federal crop insurance program will provide additional flexibility to farmers. The modifications center on the practice of growing two crops on the same field at different times of the year, which is known as double cropping.
“We are constantly looking for ways to meet the needs of our farmers and seek out their feedback so we can best provide them with the tools and resources they need to grow and support their operations,” Acting Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Michael Scuse said. “After receiving input from a number of stakeholders, we made these changes to the federal crop insurance program to provide greater flexibility and better reflect current agricultural practices.”
The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) worked to provide additional flexibility requested by farmers. Double cropping requirements are revised to adequately recognize changes in growing farm operations or for added land. This change will address both land added to an operation, and account for multiple crop rotations. These changes will be in effect for the 2017 crop year for most crops, starting with winter wheat.