The USDA announced today producers participating in federal crop insurance who have a payable prevented planting indemnity related to flooding, excess moisture or causes other than drought in 2019, will automatically receive an extra payment. Called a “top-up” payment, producers will receive the funds from their Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) starting in mid-October.
“It was a challenging planting season for many of our farmers,” said Bill Northey, USDA under secretary for farm production and conservation in a recent press release. “We are doing everything we can to ensure producers receive the help they need.
There are two levels of bonus payments. Producers with Yield Protection and Revenue Protection with Harvest Price Exclusion will receive a 10% payment. Producers with Revenue Protection will receive 15%.
Producers do not need to fill out any extra paperwork to receive the payments. All producers with a 2019 prevented planting indemnity will get the bonus money. According to USDA, the crop insurance industry will deliver the payments as part of the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019. After the initial payment, additional payments will be made in the middle of each month as more prevented planting claims are processed.
“Crop insurance is an important program for many producers to help them manage their production and price risks,” said Martin Barbre, Administrator of USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA). “We’re leveraging that system to efficiently and effectively deliver much needed support to our farmers.”
RMA received commitments from all 14 AIPs to deliver the extra payments:
· ACE Property and Casualty (Rain and Hail) Insurance Company
· American Agri-Business Insurance Company
· American Agricultural Insurance Company
· CGB Insurance Company
· Church Mutual Insurance Company
· Country Mutual Insurance Company
· Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company
· Great American Insurance Company
· Hudson Insurance Company
· NAU Country Insurance Company
· Producers Agricultural Insurance Company
· Rural Community Insurance Company
· Stratford Insurance Company
· XL Reinsurance America Inc.
