New crop insurance benefits for farmer veterans lauded

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, applauded the announcement of new crop insurance benefits for farmers who are recent military veterans. The improvements, which Stabenow authored in the 2018 Farm Bill, include waived fees and new coverage options.

“Veterans in Michigan and throughout the country are choosing to continue their careers of service by farming and helping to feed our families,” Stabenow said. “These new provisions will help farmer veterans access affordable crop insurance so they can protect their farms and their livelihoods.”

The new benefits originate from provisions in the Farmer Veteran Opportunity Act, a bipartisan bill Stabenow introduced and included in the 2018 Farm Bill, which she co-authored to provide certainty to  farmers. The farm bill provisions will provide farmer veterans seeking crop insurance with the following benefits:

– An exemption from paying an administrative fee for catastrophic and additional coverage policies;

– 10% premium discount for additional coverage policies;

– A better guarantee for the first few years of production;

– An increase in yield adjustment, from 60 to 80 percent of the applicable transitional yield.

“These new crop insurance benefits will help more farmer veterans protect their farms and recover from unexpected losses,” said Nick Babcock, President of the Farmer Veteran Coalition of Michigan. “I appreciate Senator Stabenow’s work to expand opportunities for Michigan’s farmer veterans so we can build successful careers in agriculture.”

The new benefits are available to farmer veterans who have been discharged from active duty during the past five years and are actively operating a farm. Applications must be completed by June 1, 2019, or the acreage reporting date, whichever is later.