USDA Strengthening Crop Insurance for Hemp Producers

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is improving crop insurance for hemp in response to producer feedback. The USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) is strengthening the hemp crop insurance policy by allowing producers to work more freely with processors and by improving consistency with the most recent USDA hemp regulation.

Source: AgNet | Published on December 3, 2021

Hemp farm on a beautiful sunny day

"We are working with hemp producers to provide insurance options that make sense for producers and insurance providers," RMA Administrator Marcia Bunger said. "RMA has worked to broaden and refine our offerings in order to be more responsive and dynamic."

RMA revised the policy to add flexibility to the contract insurability requirements for hemp. Producers are no longer required to deliver hemp that has no economic value in order to be insurable. Contracts between producers and processors, on the other hand, may still include delivery requirements. RMA also clarified how the amount of insurable acreage is calculated if the processor contract specifies both an acreage and a production amount. This policy change was made to ensure that producers understand how their insurable acreage is calculated for those contracts.