The summer drought in much of the nation’s center, recent derecho storm that flattened crops in the western and central Corn Belt and Hurricane Laura that flooded rice and sugarcane fields in the Delta are all reasons USDA leaders are considering extending the agency’s disaster program to provide aid for affected farmers.

Though crop insurance and commercial insurance will cover some losses, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said Monday he looks to Congress to take up soon the reallocation of available funding from other federal indemnity programs to cover additional losses from this trio of natural disasters.