The USDA recently announced the Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP) for 2022, which aims to provide agricultural producers—who have planted a cover crop this year—a premium benefit on top of their crop insurance.
How It Works
Producers who have insured their crops and chose to plant a qualifying cover crop in the 2022 crop year can capture the premium support of $5 per acre, “but no more than the full premium owned,” according to the USDA.
Cereals and other grasses, legumes, brassicas and other non-legume broadleaves and mixtures of two or more cover crop species planted at once qualify for PCCP.
Farmers in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa currently have cover crop programs that provide premium benefits. Those who take up the pre-existing cover crop premiums are eligible to receive the PCCP benefits as well.
Who is Eligible?
Most insurance policies beginning in 2022 are included in the PCCP. However, according to the USDA website, there are a few exceptions:
• Post-Application Coverage Endorsement (PACE)
• Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO)
• Hurricane Insurance Protection – Wind Index (HIP-WI)
• Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO)
• Stacked Income Protection (STAX) (if an underlying policy)
• Margin Protection (MP) (if an underling policy)
How to Get the Benefits
If you file your Report of Acreage form by March 15, 2022, you’ll automatically receive PCCP benefits. Others are advised to reach out to their FSA offices or contact the USDA service center.
Within the form, producers are expected to provide cover crop information regarding varieties, acreage numbers, maps and boundaries, plating dates, planting pattern, producer shares and irrigation practices.
In 2021, the first year the program was made available, producers enrolled 12.2 million acres of cover crops in PCCP, capturing a collective $59.5 million in premium subsidies.
Producers must enroll in PCCP by March 15, 2022 – normal acreage reporting dates with FSA will not change.
Read more:
> Real-World Cover Crop Decisions
> Do Cover Crops Pay? Evaluate Your ROI in These Two Ways
> New Crop Insurance Program for Farmers Who Split-Apply Nitrogen
