USDA provides premium benefit for cover crops

Agricultural producers who have coverage under most crop insurance policies are eligible for a premium benefit from USDA if they planted cover crops during the 2022 crop year.

To receive the benefit from this year's Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP), producers must report cover crop acreage by March 15.

This year's program comes on the heels of the recently announced Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, which creates market opportunities for U.S. agricultural and forestry products who use climate-smart production practices and include innovative, cost-effective ways to measure and verify greenhouse gas benefits.

PCCP, offered by USDA's Risk Management Agency, helps farmers maintain their cover crop systems despite the financial challenges posed by the pandemic. It is part of USDA's Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative, a bundle of programs to bring financial assistance to farmers, ranchers and producers who felt the impact of COVID-19 market disruptions.

"Producers use cover crops to improve soil health and gain other agronomic benefits, and this program will reduce producers' overall premium bill to help ensure producers can continue this climate-smart agricultural practice," said Marcia Bunger, RMA administrator.

PCCP was first offered in 2021, and producers with crop insurance received $59.5 million in premium subsidies for 12.2 million acres of cover crops.

PCCP provides premium support to producers who insured their crop with most insurance policies and planted a qualifying cover crop during the 2022 crop year. The premium support is $5 per acre, but no more than the full premium amount owed.

All cover crops reportable to FSA are eligible and include cereals and other grasses, legumes, brassicas and other non-legume broadleaves and mixtures of two or more cover crop species planted at the same time.

To receive the benefit for this program, producers must file a report of Acreage form (FSA-578) for cover crops with USDA's Farm Service Agency. The cover crop fields reported on the form must match what the producer reported to the insurance company for crop insurance policies. To file the form, producers must contact and make an appointment with their local USDA Service Center.

More information can be found at farmers.gov/pandemic-assistance/cover-crops.