Central ND News

At a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing this week, Senator John Hoeven emphasized the necessity of providing beginning farmers and ranchers with essential tools to ensure their operational success as part of the next farm bill. Hoeven highlighted provisions he authored for the Farm Bill, stating: “We need to support the next generation of farmers and ranchers so American families continue to have access to the highest quality, lowest cost food supply in the world.”

Hoeven pointed out that "the average producer is currently close to 60 years old," underscoring the need to encourage younger individuals to enter agriculture and ensure their success. He stressed the importance of affordable crop insurance and necessary capital for these new entrants. “We have a good opportunity to do just that in the upcoming farm bill, which is why I’ve introduced legislation to bolster these important tools,” Hoeven added.

Hoeven's FARMER Act includes several key provisions:

- Increases premium support for higher levels of crop insurance coverage, enhancing affordability and reducing reliance on ad-hoc disaster assistance.

- Improves the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) by increasing premium support and expanding coverage levels, offering producers additional protection.

- Directs the Risk Management Agency (RMA) to conduct a study aimed at improving SCO effectiveness in large counties.

- Allows producers flexibility by not requiring them to choose between enhanced crop insurance coverage or participating in Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs.