U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced the Protecting Farmers from Drought Act on Aug. 15, a bipartisan bill that offers an extra year of federal safeguards to farmers in drought-affected areas, preserving crop insurance while awaiting improved water conditions. This legislation ensures farmers in distressed communities, including New Mexico and Kansas, can maintain crop insurance coverage without compromise, according to a press release.
"Our farmers, ranchers and producers are the backbone of New Mexico’s agricultural industry," Luján said.
Originally devised to discourage planting in wetlands like the prairie pothole region, prevent planting coverage compensates farmers for unseeded crops due to insured causes of loss. The "1 in 4" rule, initially limited to specific regions, was extended nationally in 2019, resulting in challenges for Western farmers contending with severe drought. This shift endangered their access to crucial risk management resources. The newly introduced Protecting Farmers from Drought Act establishes a lasting resolution by instituting a "1 in 5" rule for Prevented Planting Insurance (PP), thereby offering an enduring mechanism to safeguard farmers dealing with severe drought conditions, the release stated.
“While federal drought protections exist, a recent rule change is causing New Mexico farmers to lose prevented planting coverage as droughts devastate the Southwest,” Luján said, according to the release. “The Protecting Farmers from Drought Act is a bipartisan solution that extends the '1 in 4' rule – ensuring farmers can access prevented planting coverage. This extension will allow farmers more time for water conditions to improve without losing their insurance, protecting their livelihoods and mitigating risks due to extreme drought.”
Following Luján's voiced apprehensions directed at U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and other administration figures in multiple Agriculture Committee sessions, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) granted a short-term exemption to western states from the "1 in 4" rule in autumn 2022, according to the press release.