Featured News
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President's Budget Confirms Crop Insurance Essential to Farm Safety Net
On March 11, President Joe Biden released a proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget that fully funds the Federal crop insurance program. The budget states that the “administration supports improvements to crop insurance, proactively managing risk from natural hazards, including the permanent authorization of the cover crop incentive program.” March 15, 2024 -
USDA Expands Insurance Option for Nursery Growers to All States
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expanding crop insurance tailored for nursery producers to all counties in all states. Nursery Value Select (NVS) is a pilot program that enables nursery producers to select the dollar amount of coverage that best fits their risk management needs. Its expansion is part of USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) efforts to provide insurance options for a broader group of producers, including specialty crop producers. March 08, 2024 -
NAU Country Agent Darrell Tennie Receives Outstanding Outreach Award
NAU Country Agent Darrell Tennie received the distinguished Crop Insurance Industry Outstanding Outreach Award at the recent 2024 Crop Insurance Industry Annual Convention held in Scottsdale, Arizona. The NAU Country family is proud to work alongside Darrell. Congratulations on this well-deserved honor! March 07, 2024
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ERP Phase II Announced - USDA Previews Crop and Revenue Loss Assistance for Agriculture Producers
The USDA is preparing to roll out the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase Two as well as the new Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP), which are two programs to help offset crop and revenue losses for producers. USDA is sharing early information to help producers gather documents and train front-line staff on the new approach. November 15, 2022 -
USDA to Provide up to $20 Million for Construction of On-Farm Grain Storage Facilities in Areas Impacted by Recent Natural Disasters
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the USDA will make available $20 million in cost-share assistance to help agricultural producers in Kentucky, Minnesota, South Dakota and surrounding areas to rebuild storage facilities damaged by devastating natural disaster events in 2021 and 2022. This assistance will help producers who were hard-hit by disasters and are currently struggling with a lack of available grain storage have the resources they need as they head into the 2022 crop harvest. October 13, 2022 -
RMA Offers Virtual Workshops on Improvements to the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection and Micro Farm Insurance Options
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering virtual workshops on Oct. 11, Oct. 13, Nov. 15 and Dec. 13 for agricultural producers and stakeholders to learn about the latest updates and improvements to the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) and the Micro Farm insurance options. October 07, 2022 -
Updates to Crop Insurance Plans Broaden Access for Specialty Crop, Organic, Direct Market, and Other Producers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is improving two of its most comprehensive risk management safety net programs, Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) and Micro Farm, making them more accessible to America’s agricultural producers. The following press release was published by the USDA on August 31, 2022. September 02, 2022 -
USDA Offers Greater Protection and Flexibility With RMA’s Transitional and Organic Grower Assistance (TOGA)
The Organic Transition Initiative was announced on August 22, 2022, as a $300 million multi-agency USDA effort to support the transition and build and strengthen organic markets. The TOGA nationwide program, is part of the Organic Transition Initiative offered by USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), reduces a producer’s overall crop insurance premium bills, and helps them continue to use organic agricultural systems. August 22, 2022 -
USDA to Invest up to $300 million in New Organic Transition Initiative
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced details of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) $300 million investment, including with American Rescue Plan funds, in a new Organic Transition Initiative that will help build new and better markets and streams of income for farmers and producers. August 22, 2022 -
USDA to Mail Additional Applications to Producers Impacted by 2020-21 Disasters
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced another installment (phase) in assistance to commodity and specialty crop producers impacted by natural disaster events in 2020 and 2021. More than 18,000 producers will soon receive new or updated pre-filled disaster applications to offset eligible crop losses. Approximately $6.4 billion has already been distributed to 165,000 producers through USDA’s Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Emergency Relief Program (ERP). August 19, 2022 -
NAU Country’s Agency Appreciation Week
Join NAU Country on Monday, August 15, 2022, through Thursday, August 18, 2022, for our Agency Appreciation Week! This week is about celebrating the tremendous relationship NAU Country and our agencies have worked to establish since the 1980s. To say thank you, we have planned an array of social media events and activities with some AWESOME prizes to show our appreciation. August 08, 2022 -
Streamlined Delivery of Emergency Relief Programs Is Win-Win for USDA and Agricultural Producers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has processed more than 255,000 applications for the new Emergency Relief Program (ERP). USDA has made approximately $6.1 billion, to date, in payments to commodity and specialty crop producers to help offset eligible losses from qualifying 2020 and 2021 natural disasters. By breaking-down agency barriers, using existing data across USDA and pre-filled applications, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) in cooperation with the Risk Management Agency (RMA) has been able to expediently provide economic relief and save producers and staff over a million hours of time. August 08, 2022 -
Deadline Extended and More Pre-Filled Forms For 2020 and 2021 Disasters on the Way
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that it will indefinitely extend the deadline for producers to return the pre-filled applications for Phase One of the Emergency Relief Program (ERP). A new deadline will be announced after the last Phase One applications are mailed and provide at least 30 days following the mailing. August 05, 2022