USDA announced pilot insurance coverage for hemp growers

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USDA’s Risk Management Agency will have new crop insurance options for hemp growers in select counties in 21 states in 2020. The pilot insurance program will provide Actual Production History coverage under 508(h) Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) for eligible growers in certain counties in Alabama, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The MPCI coverage is for hemp grown for fiber, grain, or CBD oil for the 2020 crop year. It is in addition to the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection coverage available to hemp growers announced earlier this year. To be eligible, a hemp producer must comply with applicable state, tribal, or federal regulations for hemp production, have at least one year of history producing the crop, and have a contract for the sale of the insured hemp. Producers also must be a part of a Section 7606 state or university research pilot, as authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, or be licensed under a state, tribal or federal program approved under the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service interim final rule issued in October 2019.

“We are excited to offer coverage to certain hemp producers in this pilot program,” said RMA Administrator Martin Barbre, in a press release. “Since this is a pilot program, we look forward to feedback from producers on the program in the coming crop year.”

RMA also announced that beginning with the 2021 crop year, hemp will be insurable under the Nursery crop insurance program and the Nursery Value Select pilot crop insurance program.