Featured News

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack appointed two new members of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors, which oversees the Federal crop insurance program available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Chris Bardenhagen and Howard James will serve four-year terms beginning this month on the board, which guides USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) on administering crop insurance. May 18, 2023

On Thursday, May 11, 2023, the "four corners" of the Agriculture Committees met with President Biden and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on the upcoming Farm Bill. After the meeting, the four lawmakers issued a joint statement. May 18, 2023

NAU Country President Jim Korin spoke on the importance of the crop insurance industry at a U.S. Senate Committee hearing. Watch the hearing or view a copy of Jim's testimony. May 04, 2023

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expanding its Margin Protection insurance plan, adding more than a thousand counties to the insurance option that provides coverage against an unexpected decrease in operating margin for corn and soybean producers. This expansion, which is in direct response to growing interest among producers, will be available by June 30, 2023. Interested producers will need to purchase their coverage by Sept. 30, 2023, to be eligible for the 2024 crop year. March 31, 2023

USDA is announcing two new programs that wrap-up and fill remaining gaps in previous natural disaster and pandemic assistance. The Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase 2 and Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP) application period is open from January 23 through June 2, 2023. January 11, 2023

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

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will allow Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants who are in the final year of their CRP contract to request voluntary termination of their CRP contract following the end of the primary nesting season for fiscal year 2022. June 06, 2022

The President released his proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 budget that fully funds the federal crop insurance program in recognition of the indispensable role that crop insurance plays in the farm safety net. The release of the FY 2023 Budget follows a letter sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Secretary of Agriculture by 55 farming, banking, and conservation organizations asking that the administration protect crop insurance from harmful budget cuts. April 13, 2022

Crop insurance is the cornerstone of the farm safety net and an invaluable risk management tool for America’s farmers. This message was underscored during a recent House Agriculture Subcommittee hearing called by Subcommittee Chairwoman Cheri Bustos (D-IL). March 08, 2022

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced supplemental American Rescue Plan Act funding for the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP). In fiscal year 2022, LAMP will receive a total of $97 million in competitive grant funding to help local and regional food entities develop, coordinate and expand producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets and local food enterprises. March 03, 2022