A new insurance option has recently been made available to corn farmers in some states who ’split-apply’ nitrogen fertilizer by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in hopes that the practice, considered better for natural resources, is more broadly implemented.
The Post Application Coverage Endorsement (PACE) provides coverage for lost yields when “producers are unable to apply the post nitrogen application during the V3-V10 corn growth stages due to field conditions created by weather,” a Jan. 5 USDA press release said. It is provided “as supplemental coverage for Yield Protection (YP), Revenue Protection (RP), and Revenue Protection with Harvest Price Exclusion (RP-HPE) policies.”
“We are proud to offer this new insurance option that encourages the use of conservation practices that benefit not just the environment, but also producers’ balance sheets,” USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) Administrator Marcia Bunger said in the release. “America’s agricultural communities are on the frontlines crafting solutions to address climate change and improve the environment. Across USDA, we’re adapting our programs to meet the needs of producers as well as the challenges they face.”
PACE will be offered in select counties in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin, the release said. The deadline to purchase insurance is March 15.
“To ‘split-apply’ nitrogen, growers make multiple fertilizer applications during the growing season rather than providing all the crop’s nitrogen requirements with a single treatment before or during planting,” the release said. “This practice can lead to lower input costs and helps prevent runoff and leaching of nutrients into waterways and groundwater.”
The new insurance option is one of several ways the department is trying to encourage conservation.
“RMA recently updated policy to allow producers with crop insurance to hay, graze or chop cover crops at any time and still receive 100% of the prevented planting payment,” the release said. “This policy change supports use of cover crops, which can help producers build resilience to drought.”
