WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack asking that the Department’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) clarify the rules related to over-seeding cover crops.

Grassley’s letter is in response to concerns voiced by producers that confusion exists between the Risk Management Agency and crop insurance companies regarding policies for over-seeding cover crops.

The use of cover crops is an increasingly popular conservation practice in the Midwest for farmers looking to improve their soil and prevent nutrient loss in fields from heavy rains.

Farmers over-seed cover crops to expand the fall planting window allowing more growth before the first freeze which will kill some types of cover crops.

“While the RMA’s guidelines are clear regarding how to terminate cover crops before planting an insured crop, they are ambiguous regarding over-seeding,” Grassley wrote in the letter to Vilsack. “Some farmers have been told their crop insurance policies could be voided if they over-seed cover crops into corn.”

Grassley suggested that the Risk Management Agency clarify its own rules, possibly by specifying a growth stage an insured crop should be at when over-seeding is acceptable to alleviate confusion.

“I’m confident that the Risk Management Agency will be able to clarify these rules in a way that allows farmers to use over-seeding while not jeopardizing their crop insurance policies,” Grassley said. “I look forward to working with Secretary Vilsack to ensure federal polices do not deter farmers from using cover crops to improve their soil and the environment.

The full text of Grassley’s letter can be found below.

June 28, 2016

The Honorable Tom Vilsack
Secretary
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, D.C. 20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

As you know, the use of cover crops is rapidly expanding throughout the Midwest.  Many farmers looking to improve their soil and prevent heavy rains from leaching nutrients out of fields have invested in this conservation practice over the last several years.

RMA currently refers to the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) cover crop termination guidelines to offer interested farmers guidance for using cover crops.  While the guidelines are clear regarding how to terminate cover crops before planting an insured crop, they are ambiguous regarding over-seeding. Specifically, the guidelines state that over-seeding or inter-seeding can “occur at an appropriate time for the cover crop and germination, or into an existing crop at a time that will not impact the yield or harvest of the insured crop.”

Over-seeding is an important option for planting cover crops on land in the Upper Midwest.  The process expands the planting window that is otherwise limited to the time between harvest and the first hard freeze.  Over-seeding allows cover crops to achieve more growth in the fall, which is key to the benefits they offer famers and land owners.

I have heard from producers that confusion exists between RMA and crop insurance companies regarding policies for over-seeding cover crops.  In fact, some farmers have been told their crop insurance policies could be voided if they over-seed cover crops into corn.  Therefore, I ask that RMA clarify the rules for over-seeding, perhaps by specifying a growth stage an insured crop should reach before over-seeding is acceptable.

I look forward to working with you to ensure federal policies do not inadvertently deter farmers from using cover crops to improve their soil and the environment. 

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley

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