HOEVEN: RMA FOLLOWS THROUGH ON ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL, IMPLEMENTS ENHANCED CROP INSURANCE

The following information was released by North Dakota Senator John Hoeven:

Senator Secured His FARMER Act in OB3 to Make Higher Levels of Coverage More Affordable; Legislation Better Supports Beginning Farmers

BISMARCK, N.D. Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, issued the following statement as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) implements the enhanced farm bill policies that Hoeven worked to secure in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3), effective for all crops with sales closing dates on or after July 1, 2025. These provisions include:

Hoeven's FARMER Act to strengthen crop insurance and make higher levels of coverage more affordable for producers.

The legislation increased premium support for individual-based coverage across nearly all levels starting at 55% -- by an additional 3-5%.

The bill also enhanced the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) by raising the coverage level from 86% to 90%, while boosting premium support from 65% to 80%.

Producers will have access to this option in 2026 via the Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) product, which has identical coverage at the same cost and premium support levels.

USDA will then change the SCO policy for the 2027 crop year.

Additionally, producers can now purchase SCO regardless of their Area Risk Coverage (ARC) elections with the Farm Service Agency.

North Dakota producers are expected to receive $44 million in additional premium support in 2026 as a result of these enhancements.

Better support for beginning farmers.

A beginning farmer is defined as an individual who has not actively operated and managed a farm or ranch for more than 10 crop years.

Beginning farmers will now benefit from crop insurance premium support above the base rate, receiving an additional subsidy of:

15 percentage points for the first two crop years.

13 percentage points for the third crop year.

11 percentage points for the fourth crop year.

10 percentage points for years five through ten.

Producers are encouraged to contact their crop insurance agents or visit the RMA website for information specific to their policies and coverage levels.

"The FARMER Act provisions that we secured in the One Big Beautiful Bill stand as a historic improvement to the affordability of crop insurance. We appreciate Secretary Rollins and her team at RMA for working with us to swiftly implement our legislation and deliver these benefits to U.S. farmers," said Hoeven. "In North Dakota alone, producers are expected to receive $44 million in additional premium support as a result of these enhancements. Moreover, we're investing in a new generation of farmers by providing additional premium support above the base rate for the first ten years of their operations, which will help secure the future of American agriculture."

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