USDA Expands Hemp Insurance Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has expanded its pilot Multi-Peril Crop Insurance plan for the hemp industry into new states and counties and announced improvements to the insurance.

Under the new rules, broker contracts are permitted for hemp grain and the agency adjusted several dates related to the insurance – such as cancellation, product reporting and termination, billing, and sales closing – to better match dates used for similar crop insurance programs.

The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) said it is also “authorizing additional flexibilities due to the coronavirus pandemic while continuing to support producers, working through Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) to deliver services, including processing policies, claims, and agreements.”