Farm Bill Proposal Seeks to Improve Crop Insurance for Small, Beginning and Diversified Farmers

Farm bill proposals tied to trying to influence the next farm bill are plenty in the U.S. Senate right now. The latest bill includes efforts to tighten payment limits and enhance insurance coverage for small farms. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have introduced the “Farm Program Integrity Act,” which seeks to implement farm-program payment limits and change the definition of “actively engaged in farming.”

Senator Brown is also an author of a Democratic bill on whole farm revenue insurance. The “Whole Farm Revenue Protection Program (WFRP) Improvement Act of 2023” would help small and mid-sized farmers increase access to the crop insurance program. Brown says the farmers least likely to enroll in crop insurance are small and beginning farmers and diversified farmers. The bill would authorize the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to study crop insurance participation by farmers who sell in local or regional markets while reducing paperwork requirements under WFRP crop insurance policies.

Read more on pending WFRP legislation here.