USDA is making plans to launch new Farm Bill program to help provide relief to farmers impacted by severe weather, including drought.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the Actual Production History (APH) Yield Exclusion, available nationwide for farmers of select crops starting next spring, allows eligible producers who have been hit with severe weather to receive a higher approved yield on their insurance policies through the federal crop insurance program.

Spring crops eligible for APH Yield Exclusion include corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, barley, canola, sunflowers, peanuts, and popcorn. Nearly three-fourths of all acres and liability in the federal crop insurance program will be covered under APH Yield Exclusion, which allows farmers to exclude yields in exceptionally bad years (such as a year in which a natural disaster or other extreme weather occurs) from their production history when calculating yields used to establish their crop insurance coverage.

Secretary Vilsack and USDA Risk Management Agency administrator Brandon Willis announced the details in a call with reporters: USDA APH announcement with Vilsack and Willis