RMA Announces Relay Cropping Now Insureable by Written Agreement

USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced this week that for the 2022 and succeeding crop years relay cropping is now insurable via written agreement for soybeans seeded into an established small grain crop. RMA defines relay cropping as a practice where a second-planted crop is seeded into an established crop that allows for separate maintenance and harvest of both crops. RMA does define damage to either crop during planting or harvest or general maintenance as an uninsurable cause of loss.

RMA will create a new relay cropping practice to meet the policy requirements, and insurance for the practice will only be available via written agreement.The written agreement request must be submitted as an unrated practice/type (TP) request type by the acreage reporting deadline for new requests, and include evidence of adaptability from an agricultural expert that relay cropping is an acceptable practice for the requested location. In addition, RMA will utilize the zones defined in the NRCS Cover Crop Termination Guidelines to implement separate production history requirements.

View the new guidelines, definitions and written agreement requirements for insuring relay cropping here.

For questions, talk to your trusted crop insurance agent or find the nearest ProAg expert here.