The Department of Agriculture Tuesday authorized emergency procedures to help farmers impacted by extreme drought conditions. USDA's Risk Management Agency is working with crop insurance companies to streamline and accelerate the adjustment of losses and issuance of indemnity payments to crop insurance policyholders in impacted areas.
These new crop insurance flexibilities are part of USDA's broader response to help producers impacted by drought in the West, Northern Great Plains, Caribbean and other areas.
Emergency procedures allow insurance companies to accept delayed notices of loss in certain situations, streamline paperwork, and reduce the number of required representative samples when damage is consistent.
The flexibilities reduce burdens on both insurance companies and farmers. Producers should contact their crop insurance agent as soon as they notice damage.
Producers impacted by drought may also qualify for other USDA programs, including disaster assistance and conservation programs. Visit farmers.gov to access USDA’s Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool.