Republican Senators’ FARMER Act Seeks to Boost Crop Insurance Coverage

Republican senators this month introduced legislation they say would increase support for crop insurance and make higher levels of coverage more affordable to farmers.

Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D) proposed the Federal Agriculture Risk Management Enhancement and Resilience (FARMER) Act, an amendment to the farm bill that would increase premium support for higher levels of crop insurance coverage. Hoeven said the bill would enhance affordability and reduce the need for ad-hoc disaster assistance.

The bill, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), would not require producers to choose between purchasing enhanced crop insurance coverage or participating in Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs.

“Crop insurance is an essential piece of the farm safety net, providing farmers with their most important risk management tool as they work to continue providing Americans with the highest quality, lowest cost food supply in the world,” Hoeven said in a statement.

The FARMER Act would improve the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO), a county level crop insurance option, by increasing premium support and expanding the coverage level, which the bill’s sponsors say would provide producers an added level of protection. The bill would also direct the Risk Management Agency (RMA) to conduct a study to improve the effectiveness of SCO in large counties.

The bill is endorsed by the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Soybean Association and the National Corn Growers Association.

The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit organization that has criticized rising crop insurance payouts, said the proposal would drive up taxpayer costs while benefiting the largest and wealthiest farms.

Congress last passed a new version of the farm bill in 2018. Congress last year authorized an extension of the 2018 bill through September 30, 2024.