USDA Announces One-time Change to Prevented Planting Requirements

(WASHINGTON, DC) As historic weather events continue to stall planting in the midwest, USDA is announcing changes for corn and soybean producers affected by prevented planting. Growers can hay, graze or cut cover crops for silage on prevented plant acres on or after September 1st and still maintain eligibility for their full-year 2019 prevented planting indemnity. The changes, for one year only, encourage farmers to plant seed cover crops on more acres while allowing them to file for prevented-plant claims. With the new rule, producers may see income from three areas. First, income from a prevented-plant insurance indemnity; second from the value of the silage produced, and: finally from a direct payment made under USDA’s Market Facilitation Program (MFP 2.0) – due to disruptions in the trade from tariffs and retaliatory tariffs from China and other trading partners.