Prevented planting is a feature of many crop insurance plans that provides a payment to cover certain pre-plant costs for a crop that was prevented from being planted due to an insurable cause of loss. The USDA’s Risk Management Agency is looking at possible changes to prevented planting crop insurance coverage for a future reinsurance year and it wants to hear what producers think and have to say about it. So, it is hosting in-person listening sessions in 11 states and additional ones virtually from June through August and looking for written feedback by September 1, 2023.

The request for information on prevented planting requests input on prevented planting topics will include:

  • Harvest Price Option – Feedback on whether to allow the prevented planting payment calculations to be based on the higher of projected price or harvest price under the revenue protection plan of insurance.
  • “1 in 4” Rule – Input on the challenges or experiences since the rule (to be eligible for a prevented planting coverage acreage must have been planted to a crop, insured, and harvested in at least 1 out of the previous 4 crop years) was implemented nationwide.
  • 10 percent additional coverage option – Input on if RMA should reinstate the option to buy-up prevented planting coverage by 10 percent.
  • Contract price – Whether prevented planting costs are higher for contracted crops and how prevented planting payments should be calculated for contract crops.
  • General – Willingness to pay additional premium for expanded prevented planting benefits, recommendations on other prevented planting limitations, etc.

USDA invites all stakeholders to respond to this request for information by attending an in-person and/or virtual listening session to provide verbal comments. In-person listening sessions will be held in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas. Listening sessions will occur June through August 2023. Stakeholders can also submit written comments through the close of business on September 1, 2023, and they should be submitted through regulations.gov. The request for information, which includes details for submitting feedback, is available in this Federal Register notice. RMA has posted the full details and the schedule of listening sessions on its website.