Another type of hemp insurance is being made available from the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), which will cover growers in certain counties of 21 states including California. The recent announcement notes that eligible producers will have access to a pilot insurance program which will provide Actual Production History coverage under Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI).
“We are excited to offer coverage to certain hemp producers in this pilot program,” RMA Administrator Martin Barbre said in a press release. “Since this is a pilot program, we look forward to feedback from producers on the program in the coming crop year.”
The new hemp insurance will be available for hemp that is produced for grain, fiber or cannabidiol (CBD) oil for the 2020 crop year. The MPCI coverage is being offered in conjunction with the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection coverage that was made available to producers earlier in the year. Hemp producers will need to remain in compliance with any state, federal, and tribal regulations in order to be eligible for the MPCI pilot program. Among other eligibility requirements, growers will also need to have at one year of production history for hemp and also have a contract for the sale of the insured crop.
Part of the MPCI provisions dictates that producing hemp which exceeds the threshold defined by the 2018 Farm Bill of containing more than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) will not constitute an insurable cause of loss. Hemp producers will also need to be operating under a state, federal, or tribal license approved under the interim final rule issued by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).
Further hemp crop insurance will also become available in 2021 through the Nursery crop insurance program and the Nursery Value Select pilot crop insurance program. Each of the insurance options will be accessible for farmers growing hemp in containers, who comply with state, federal or tribal regulations for production.
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