Hoeven Reintroduces Farmer Act to Strengthen Farm Safety Net, Make Higher Levels of Crop Insurance More Affordable

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, this week reintroduced his legislation to strengthen crop insurance and make higher levels of coverage more affordable for producers. The legislation is cosponsored by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman and Senators Mitch McConnell, Joni Ernst, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Roger Marshall, Jim Justice, Chuck Grassley, Deb Fischer and Jerry Moran. Specifically, the Federal Agriculture Risk Management Enhancement and Resilience (FARMER) Act, which Hoeven is working to include in the next farm bill, would:
“Crop insurance remains the number one risk management tool for our farmers, but it doesn’t provide the kind of affordable coverage options that all producers need. The result has been the repeated need for ad-hoc disaster assistance. Ultimately, producers buying higher levels of coverage will lessen the need for ad-hoc disaster assistance in the future,” said Senator Hoeven. “That means less emergency spending by the federal government, greater certainty for farmers and a more resilient ag economy. Those are wins across the board.”
Hoeven’s legislation is supported by the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, American Sugarbeet Growers Association, Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau, Crop Insurance Professionals Association, Farm Credit Council, Midwest Council on Agriculture, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Barley Growers Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Council, National Sunflower Association, USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council, U.S. Beet Sugar Association, U.S. Canola Association, U.S. Durum Growers Association, North Dakota Corn Growers Association, North Dakota Farmers Union, North Dakota Grain Growers Association, North Dakota Soybean Growers Association, Northharvest Bean Growers Association, Minnesota Corn Growers Association, Minnesota Farm Bureau, Minnesota Soybean Association, Southwest Council of Agribusiness, and Western Peanut Growers Association. A summary and the full bill text of the legislation can be foundhereandhere, respectively. Statements of support can be foundhere.
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