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Agricultural producers who have coverage under most crop insurance policies are eligible for a premium benefit from USDA if they planted cover crops during the 2021 crop year. The Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP), offered by USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), reduces producers’ overall premium bills and helps them maintain their cover crop systems.PCCP 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.
- Benefit Availability
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PCCP provides premium support to producers who insured their spring crop with most insurance policies and planted a qualifying cover crop during the 2021 crop year. The premium support is $5 per acre, but no more than the full premium owed. Qualifying cover crops include all that are reportable to FSA, including cereals and other grasses, legumes, brassicas and other non-legume broadleaves, and mixtures of two or more cover crop species planted at the same time. A full list is available at FSA.PCCP does not change acreage reporting dates, reporting requirements, or any other terms of the crop insurance policy.
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Eligible Insurance Policies
PCCP is available for most insurance policies, but there are a few exceptions related to policies that already provide the benefit through underling coverage or that are not compatible with acreage reporting. PCCP is not available for:
- Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP)
- Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO)
- Hurricane Insurance Protection – Wind Index (HIP-WI)
- Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO)
- Stacked Income Protection (STAX) (if an endorsement)
Producers will automatically receive the benefit by filing the Report of Acreage form (FSA-578) by June 15, 2021, at their local FSA county office. As part of filing the Report of Acreage, you will need to provide:
- cover crop type or variety;
- number of acres of the cover crop;
- map with approximate boundaries for the cover crop;
- planting dates;
- planting pattern, when applicable;
- producer shares; and
- irrigation practices.
The cover crop fields that are reported on the Report of Acreage form must match what is reported to the insurance company for crop insurance policies. For more information, please contact your local FSA office and/or view the RMA PCCP Fact Sheet