RMA Announces New Efficiencies for Conservation Compliance

This week, the Risk Management Agency (RMA)—the part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that manages the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP)—announced significant changes to conservation compliance to increase crop insurance program efficiencies.

The changes include a new certification date, and will allow farmers to choose a unit structure based on their risk management needs. Farmers must meet conservation compliance standards to receive FCIP subsidies and purchase adequate coverage for their farmland.

The Big “I” Crop Task Force has been working with both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate Agriculture Committees, as well as the RMA, to advocate for these changes. The RMA removed the June 1 certification deadline date from the conservation compliance provisions and will instead refer to the premium billing date, which will allow the conservation compliance certification process for crop insurance to be administered in a way that is consistent with other USDA programs.

The RMA is also streamlining its services by now allowing policyholders to select an enterprise unit for either irrigated or non-irrigated practices. These changes reduce the burden placed on producers and make crop insurance more accessible.

Jen McPhillips is Big “I” vice president of federal government affairs.