USDA implementing drought emergency assistance procedures

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USDA implementing drought emergency assistance procedures

The USDA is working with crop insurance companies to streamline and speed up the indemnity payment process for farmers in areas of severe drought including in the upper Midwest, west, northern plains, and Caribbean.

Risk Management Agency Administrator Richard Flournoy says emergency procedures authorized Tuesday for all states experiencing drought will relax requirements and expedite the claims process allowing those producers to plant a new crop or cover crop.

Producers should contact their crop insurance agent as soon as they discover damage. Once the insured crop has been appraised and released, the producer can cut the crop for silage, destroy it or take other action like planting a cover crop.

The latest US Drought Monitor shows 57% of the US is experiencing some level of drought, with nearly 40% considered severe to extreme and 10% in the worst stage, exceptional drought.

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