USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced details of the 2022 Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP) that both benefits farmers and supports climate smart production practices.
Agricultural producers who have coverage under most crop insurance policies are eligible for a premium benefit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (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, 2022. The new 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 that use climate-smart production practices and include innovative, cost-effective ways to measure and verify greenhouse gas benefits.
RMA Administrator Marcia Bunger attended the 2022 Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) Annual Meeting this week where she talked about the program. “It is exciting that we are able to offer this again,” said Bunger. “I’m anticipating there will be even more acres that will fall under that premium credit option.”
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 helps farmers maintain their cover crop systems, despite the financial challenges posed by the pandemic and 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.
Listen to an interview with Bunger from CIRB here:
CIRB22 interview with RMA Administrator Marcia Bunger (3:58)