Farmers and ranchers who suffer losses from natural disasters need financial certainty. American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Congressional Relations Director Scott Bennett said the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program (WHIP) offsets those losses in 2018 and 2019.

But farmers and ranchers need WHIP and WHIP+ coverage for 2020 and 2021.

“For the crop years of 2018 and 2019, this program provided additional financial certainty for those farmers who suffered a crop loss due to a natural disaster when crop insurance couldn’t cover the entire loss. Disaster assistance is critically important for the vitality of American farmers,” Bennett said.

The program provides payments to farmers to offset losses from drought, hurricanes, wildfires and other qualifying natural disasters. WHIP+ covers the losses of the crops, trees, bushes and vines that occurred as a result of those disaster events, milk losses due to adverse weather conditions, and losses to on-farm stored commodities. An update in February 2020 expanded program eligibility to counties that experienced D3 and D4 drought conditions in 2018 and 2019.

“We at American Farm Bureau are working with Congress to also include 2020 and 2021 in WHIP coverage. We also are aware of the regional sensitivities and varying disasters in the country, and making sure that all natural disasters that affect our farmers are included in a comprehensive program moving forward,” Bennett said.

Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) is also working with AFBF, other state Farm Bureaus and congressional leaders to extend WHIP+ to cover 2020 and 2021 crop years and make improvements to the program.

In May, TFB member Ross Copeland testified before Republican members of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources. He shared his experiences dealing with drought.

“There have been many factors over the years making it increasingly difficult to continue farming and ranching. However, severe drought is one of the largest issues we face,” the fifth-generation farmer and rancher told the committee members.

For more information about WHIP and WHIP+, visit farmers.gov/recover/whip-plus.