Springfield, Ill., Feb. 9, 2023 – The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) reminds producers in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio that for the 2023 crop year there may be options for insuring double crop soybeans and grain sorghum in counties where the Following Another Crop (FAC) practice is not available. In support of the President’s and Secretary’s commitments, the Springfield Regional Office is simplifying and expanding options to insure Following Another Crop (FAC) acreage in areas that don’t offer coverage.

Producers intending to plant soybeans after wheat or other small grains in counties where double crop insurance coverage is not available will have the option to insure the soybeans using a Blanket Written Agreement. The Blanket Written Agreements are a standardized written agreement offer prebuilt by RMA that can be accessed by your crop insurance company. They provide the terms and conditions of insurance that you can insure your FAC soybeans without going through an extensive underwriting process. You have until the sales closing date of March 15 to request coverage using a Blanket Written Agreement. If you miss the March 15 deadline and are requesting coverage for the first time, you may request a type/practice written agreement through your agent until the July 15 acreage reporting deadline. In addition, producers also have the option to request coverage for soybeans planted into wheat or other small grains using a relay cropping practice.

Brian Frieden, RMA’s Springfield Regional Office Director said. “If you’re looking at relay cropping or double cropping in counties without coverage, please contact your crop insurance agent for details on requesting a written agreement to provide coverage and any applicable deadlines.”

Information regarding the details of the expansion of these options can be found at the Springfield Regional Office’s website: Springfield Regional Office.

RMA has also published additional details, including frequently asked questions, maps, and other material specifically related to the expansion effort and more general information about double cropping.

More Information

RMA’s expansion of double cropping is part of a broader effort to help producers boost production and address global food insecurity. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is also improving opportunities for nutrient management. This includes targeting funding, increasing program flexibilities, launching a new outreach campaign to promote nutrient management’s economic benefits, and expanding partnerships to develop nutrient management plans.

Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers and online at the RMA Agent Locator. Learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.

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