{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hoeven.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/hoeven-outlines-two-part-plan-to-protect-farmers-impacted-by-fargo-moorhead-flood-protection", "Hoeven Outlines Two-Part Plan to Protect Farmers Impacted by Fargo-Moorhead Flood Protection", "2026-08-18", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "ND", "John Hoeven", "H001061", "www.hoeven.senate.gov", "hoeven", "https://www.hoeven.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "HORACE, N.D. \u2013 Senator John Hoeven today outlined a two-part plan he has worked to advance to help protect farmers who may be impacted by the operation of the Fargo-Moorhead region\u2019s permanent flood protection project. The senator discussed how the approach for this regional, multi-state, multi-community project in the Red River Valley has always been to ensure it works for all stakeholders both upstream and downstream, highlighting how this two-part plan is another example of such efforts. Hoeven recognized the real impacts on farmers upstream of the diversion and thanked them for working with the Fargo Moorhead Diversion Authority and his office to develop this plan.\n\nThe plan addresses an issue where federal crop insurance will not cover losses caused by high water levels resulting from the operation of the Fargo Moorhead Diversion. Federal crop insurance generally provides coverage for unavoidable natural disasters, but man-made events, such as the operation of the flood control structure, are not an insurable cause of loss. Accordingly, Hoeven:\n\nSecured legislation in the Senate Farm Bill 2.0 to protect upstream producers\u2019 federal crop insurance coverage.\n\nOnce the Farm Bill is passed, this will be the 18th piece of legislation Hoeven has passed to support the development of comprehensive flood protection in the Red River Valley.\n\nSpecifically, the measure excludes affected years from the producers\u2019 Actual Production History (APH).\n\nAPH uses up to 10 years of historical yields to determine crop insurance guarantees.\n\nA reduction in APH due to operation of the project would undermine farmers\u2019 ability to manage their risk and reduce the value of future federal crop insurance coverage.\n\nHoeven\u2019s legislation ensures farmers\u2019 federal crop insurance coverage will not be affected by years when their acres are impacted by the diversion\u2019s operations.\n\nWorked with local leaders to fund a crop loss program using the $100 million Hoeven secured from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers earlier this year.\n\nThis funding was made available under legislation Hoeven passed directing the Corps to apply federal savings toward reducing the local cost share for flood protection in the Red River Valley.\n\nThe program will be administered by the Fargo Moorhead Diversion Authority and uses $25 million from the overall funding.\n\nThe program will:\n\nProvide 100 percent coverage for federally insured crops damaged by the diversion\u2019s operations.\n\nMatch the coverage level purchased by producers for prevented planting.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve taken a comprehensive approach to flood protection in the Red River Valley, and our two-part plan is about fulfilling this promise for upstream farmers. To this end, my legislation addresses gaps in federal crop insurance coverage, while we are also using a portion of the $100 million we secured from the Corps to make producers whole when the diversion has to be put to use,\u201d said Hoeven. \u201cCrop insurance is farmers\u2019 most important risk management tool, and protecting their Actual Production History is essential for maintaining coverage levels over the long term. At the same time, the crop loss program being administered by the FM Diversion Authority will help meet producers\u2019 needs in the short term when high water levels resulting from the diversion\u2019s operations damage their crops or prevent them from planting.\u201d\n\n-###-", 1, "2026-08-19T05:29:02Z", "2026-08-19T05:30:24Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hoeven.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/hoeven-outlines-two-part-plan-to-protect-farmers-impacted-by-fargo-moorhead-flood-protection"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5889056958258152, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}