Brown Leads Introduction of Legislation to Expand Crop Insurance for Small Farms

WASHINGTON, July 28 -- Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, issued the following news release on July 27, 2023:

Today, U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Peter Welch (D-VT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) introduced the Whole Farm Revenue Protection Program Improvement Act of 2023, to ensure that small and mid-sized farms are able to access crop insurance. Right now, a few small to mid-sized, beginning, specialty crop, and diversified producers are able to enroll in the federal crop insurance program. This leaves the next generation of farmers and those who feed their local communities without an effective or adequate safety net to protect against the many risks of farming, including volatile markets, worsening floods, droughts, and frosts.

"Small and mid-size family farms are crucial to our rural communities and our state's economy. Too often, these small family farmers don't have the same tools and resources available to big agriculture, like crop insurance, and they can't compete," said Brown. "By ensuring every farmer can access crop insurance, we can make sure small Ohio farms can weather the risks of farming and compete with big ag companies."

"Vermont farms were hit hard by catastrophic storms and flooding in early July, with many suffering significant crop and livestock losses. As we recover, it's critical that we not only rebuild, but also help our farms become more resilient to future disasters," said Welch. "The Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) Program can boost farms' resilience by helping farmers insure the revenue of their entire production and providing valuable support for crop diversification. The Whole Farm Revenue Protection Program Improvement Act of 2023 will streamline the WFRP's application process, making it easier for Vermont farms to protect their crops and livestock and helping to build a more resilient agricultural sector in Vermont and across the U.S. I'm proud to join my colleagues to introduce this important, common-sense legislation."

"The Farm Bill works great for some farmers, but we need a crop insurance program that covers more than just large, corporate commodity farmers. Small, new, and specialty crop producers that feed their communities deserve a safety net. I am proud to cosponsor this bill, which will reduce barriers to accessing WFRP insurance and close the coverage gap for our underserved farmers," said Fetterman.

"Widespread drought, wildfires and other climate-fueled extreme weather continue to strain farmers in Minnesota and around the country," said Smith. "We need programs that help make farms more resilient and give farmers the certainty they need to get through hard times. This bill would do just that, with a particular focus on small, beginning, specialty crop, and diversified crop producers. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill passed as part of this year's Farm Bill.

"For many small, diversified, and specialty crop farmers, Whole Farm Revenue Protection is the only insurance option that they have to protect their farms. So, we need to make sure that WFRP works really well for these producers," said Sen. Booker. "I thank Senator Brown for introducing this bill, which will make important changes to the WFRP to make it a more effective safety net."

The Whole Farm Revenue Protection Program Improvement Act will direct the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) to take specific, targeted actions that will streamline access to Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) and close the coverage gap for our country's small to mid-sized, beginning, specialty crop, and diversified producers.

WFRP is a crop-neutral revenue insurance product designed to protect a farmer's entire operation, including livestock, not just one crop. WFRP is intended to provide diversified and diversifying farms that might not have access to separate crop or revenue insurance policies for each crop they grow an option to insure all their crops and livestock under one policy.

Specifically, the bill would:

* Authorize the FCIC to carry out research and development to increase crop insurance participation by farmers marketing to local and regional markets.

* Clarify that producers are permitted to enroll in a WFRP plan in addition to other insurance plans.

* Authorize the FCIC to consider expanding the diversification premium discount to farmers that utilize a resource-conserving crop rotation.

* Direct the FCIC to implement several targeted modifications to WFRP design and delivery to improve effectiveness for specialty crops and diversified farms:

* Reduce paperwork burdens by clarifying that Schedule F tax forms are sufficient to establish historic revenue and that agents only may request additional paperwork if tax records are incomplete.

* Prohibit the adjustment of price and production expectations at the time of submission of a loss claim.

* Apply the streamlined application process introduced in the Micro Farm pilot to producers with at least $1 million in gross revenue, to include all small and mid-sized farms as defined by USDA.

* Raise the annual 35% limit to historic gross revenue expansion to the lower of 100% or $500,000, to allow beginning and scaling farmers to be insured at a level that keeps pace with rapid operational growth.

* Expand the diversification premium discount to apply to producers with at least 10 commodities, encouraging more diverse farmers to enroll in the program.

* Moderate the impact of disaster years by including Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program payouts as historic gross revenue or establishing a floor to how much historic gross revenue may fall annually.

* Compensate crop insurance agents appropriately for Whole-Farm Revenue Protection sales in a manner determined by the Secretary, overcoming a key barrier for agents who are reluctant or refuse to sell WFRP policies.

* Provide additional educational and training opportunities regarding Whole-Farm Revenue Protection to insurance companies and agents.

"As someone who has used Whole Farm Revenue Insurance, I have seen the potential and pitfalls of this product. I am glad to see that this bill will significantly improve the program for growers like me as well as smaller and more diversified farms. It will also provide much needed education and training to the agents that sell the product so that they can reach these more diversified farms and help to better provide a safety net for all farms, no matter the size or crop," said Scott Myers of Woodlyn Acres Farm, LLC in Dalton, Ohio.

"For those historically shut out of safety net programs, Whole-Farm Revenue Protection can provide a lifeline to farmers through access to crop insurance," said Joe Van Wye, Policy and Outreach Director at Farm Action Fund. "Yet, burdensome paperwork requirements and misguided incentives for insurance agents pose barriers and prevent widespread enrollment. We thank Senator Brown for tackling these issues in his Whole Farm Revenue Protection Program and look forward to working alongside him for its inclusion in the 2023 Farm Bill."

"We often hear from small and beginning farmers who grow fruits and vegetables that want a safety net in the face of worsening storms and droughts; it just does not feel like an option for them," says Billy Hackett, Policy Specialist at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. "This Act includes targeted provisions informed by on-the-ground experience to remove common barriers to Whole-Farm Revenue Protection access and will ultimately contribute to new peaks in enrollment."

The Ohio Farmers Union, Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, National Wildlife Federation, Regenerate America, Farm Action, Farm Aid, Kiss the Ground, Environmental Working Group, Michigan Food and Farming Systems, Land Steward Project, Marbleseed, Georgia Organics, Dakota Rural Action, Pasa Sustainable Agriculture, Coastal Enterprises, Inc, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Community Farm Alliance, and Maine Farmland Trust have endorsed the legislation.

Brown, the first Ohioan to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in more than 50 years, has long been a leader for Ohio's rural communities and a champion of small farms and local and regional food systems. He recently introduced his bipartisan Local Farms and Food Act, which would make it easier for Ohio farmers to sell their products locally, improving and updating Farm Bill programs Brown helped pass, based on feedback from Ohio farmers. The legislation builds on Brown's Local FARMS Act of 2017 and key provisions Brown secured in the 2018 Farm Bill -- including, most notably, the creation of the Local Agriculture Market Program.

Brown will help write the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill and has talked with farmers and other agriculture representatives at roundtables around the state over the last several months as a part of the 2023 Farm Bill planning process.

The text of the bill is available HERE (https://www.brown.senate.gov/download/sherrod-brown-whole-farm-revenue-protection-program-imporvement-act-2023).

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Original text here: https://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/sherrod-brown-legislation-expand-crop-insurance-small-farms