The USDA’s RMA Management Agency (RMA) released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) concerning revisions to its position on cover crops, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Cover Crop Termination Guidelines, and crop insurance for the 2014 crop year.
“These questions and answers provide valuable information for producers who want to take advantage of the conservation benefits that cover crops provide while remaining in compliance with federal crop insurance rules,” said Rebecca Davis, Director of RMA’s Topeka Regional Office.
RMA made procedural changes to provide more flexibility for cover crop management due to changing weather conditions and changes in cover crop practices for the 2014 crop year. To ensure that RMA policies were up to date with evolving cover crop practices, the agency coordinated with the NRCS and Farm Service Agency (FSA) through an interagency workgroup to develop a consistent, simple and flexible cover crop policy across the three agencies. Specifically, the interagency group was tasked to develop cover crop management guidelines so that producers can achieve conservation benefits of cover crops while minimizing risk of reducing yield to the following crop due to soil water use.
“Crop insurance is critical for producers in the Topeka region,” Davis said. RMA’s Topeka region includes Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Last year, over $20 billion in cash crops, such as corn, soybeans, and wheat, were insured in the four state region.
“As producers explore how cover crops might fit into their farming operation, it is also important they take a look at how cover crops fit with their crop insurance policy,” Davis continued.
The FAQs can be found online at http://www.rma.usda.gov//faq/covercrops2014.html.
Cover crops for conservation purposes have been around for decades, but are now being embraced on a wider basis due to the increased understanding of the benefits for soil quality, nutrient cycles, erosion control, weed management, and soil water availability.