releases: https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=F0C77941-8F8B-44DB-A5F3-BD869F411B57
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=F0C77941-8F8B-44DB-A5F3-BD869F411B57 | Heitkamp Helps Mitigate Harsher Cuts to Prevent Plant Coverage | 2016-11-22 | 2016 | 2016-11 | Democrat | House | ND | Heidi Heitkamp | H001069 | www.heitkamp.senate.gov | legacy | MANDAN, N.D. – After pressing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to maintain strong crop insurance prevent plant policies for North Dakota farmers in any changes to prevent plant payment factors, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today announced that the agency heeded her call, implementing a new rule that makes lesser cuts for North Dakota crops than original proposals.A member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry, Heitkamp urged USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) Administrator Brandon Willis in September 2015 to proceed with caution before heeding a report’s suggestion of payment factor reductions for corn, dry bean, pea, canola, and flaxseed – crops North Dakota leads the nation in producing. Just last month, Heitkamp reiterated her concerns to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, noting that North Dakota producers collecting indemnities from prevented planting pay premiums at levels that are sufficient to cover risk, and that decreases could have a negative impact. Today’s rule, which changes payment factors for prevented planting, includes lesser reductions than USDA’s RMA-commissioned study called for last year – particularly for corn growers. Pointing to the fact that North Dakota is a prominent producer of the crop, Heitkamp had warned USDA that growers would feel significant consequences from reduction levels as originally suggested. “A strong crop insurance program helps make sure North Dakota farmers can take risks and make investments necessary to grow the crops our nation depends on,” said Heitkamp. “That’s why I’ve been pressing leaders at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to keep the crop insurance program strong by avoiding damaging changes that could disrupt the safety nets our growers rely on, and jeopardize our state’s production. By working to halt harsher cuts to prevent plant, we made some needed and important progress for corn growers. It’s critical that North Dakotans have the coverage they need and that USDA takes into account the high input costs, and I’ll keep fighting to make those clear. Strong crop insurance protects North Dakota farmers, their way of life, and their ability to grow the crops that feed the nation both now and in a strong Farm Bill in 2018.” Click here to read Heitkamp’s letter to USDA RMA Administrator Brandon Willis in September 2015, and here to read her October letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.Heitkamp, who helped write, negotiate, and pass the 2014 Farm Bill, has worked tirelessly to represent farmers and producer across North Dakota and the country. In August, Heitkamp visited several cities in North Dakota for her two-day Farm Bill tour, where she heard directly from farmers and leaders about what she can do to fight for a strong Farm Bill in 2018, including by protecting a robust crop insurance program. On the heels of pledging to protect crop insurance from budget cuts in October 2015, Heitkamp supported a compromise fix that reversed severe cuts to the federal crop insurance program in the highway bill, which Congress passed last December. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |