IL Corn scored a win for our members. Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency announced a new endorsement to the federal crop insurance policies corn farmers can purchase. The endorsement was the result of our members’ feedback on the program that was gathered through our policy surveys and farm bill taskforce meetings. We appreciate USDA RMA Administrator Martin Barbre, a Carmi, Ill. farmer, and his staff for carrying this ball across the finish line in cooperation with members of Congress. IL Corn supported Barbre’s application to the Trump Administration for the position of RMA Administrator.

Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) achieved a significant change to the way farms can be enrolled into the federal crop insurance program today, a top priority of the Association’s farm bill task force.

Farmers now have a low-cost option for insuring small parcels of land in one county by combining them into a single enterprise unit with land in a neighboring county under their crop insurance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is offering the new endorsement known as the Multi-County Enterprise Unit for farmers interested in covering two counties in the same state under their crop insurance policy.

“ICGA is grateful to the RMA for listening to our members’ concerns,” said Ted Mottaz, ICGA President. “This change will allow farmers to insure their crops in a more efficient, common-sense way.”

The Multi-County Enterprise Unit endorsement is the outcome of a years-long process that involved in-depth conversations between ICGA and leadership in the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, as well as RMA officials in Washington, DC, and Kansas City, Mo.

“This is a great example of how our ICGA grassroots system is meant to work,” Mottaz added. “Our members brought to us this concern about the difficulty in insuring their farms across county lines, we streamlined the ask and researched the implications at a staff level, and then facilitated meetings between farmers and government officials to enact this positive change.”