A news release today from USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) stated that, “[RMA] today announced it will continue to defer accrual of interest for 2019 crop year insurance premiums to help the wide swath of farmers and ranchers affected by extreme weather in 2019. Specifically, USDA will defer the accrual of interest on 2019 crop year insurance premiums to the earlier of the applicable termination date or January 31, 2020, for all policies with a premium billing date of August 15, 2019. This extension is necessary since harvest progress has been very delayed and crop insurance claims are not typically settled until harvest is complete, squeezing cash flow even further. Bill Northey, USDA’s Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, made the announcement at the National Association of Farm Broadcasters’ conference in Kansas City.
“‘USDA is committed to helping farmers and ranchers impacted by the weather challenges this year, and we hope this deferral will help ease cash flow challenges for producers, many of whom are caught in a very delayed harvest,’ Northey said.
“USDA had previously announced a deferral to November 30, 2019, providing producers with an additional two months from the traditional September 30 date. With today’s announcement, producers will have until January 31, 2020, to pay the 2019 premium without accruing interest. For any premium that is not paid by the new deadline, interest will accrue consistent with the terms of the policy.”
Today’s update added that, “This extended deferral builds on other steps USDA has taken to support farmers and ranchers impacted by flooding and other disasters. So far this year, producers have reported they were prevented from planting on nearly 20 million acres, a modern record. Indemnities from crop insurance have reached almost $6 billion this year, with more than $3.9 billion of that going to producers unable to plant because of flooding or excess moisture.”
