releases: https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A3566BFD-EC23-42E2-BD8D-FE41BB3F669D
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A3566BFD-EC23-42E2-BD8D-FE41BB3F669D | Heitkamp Pushes USDA to Waive or Delay Interest on Crop Insurance Premiums Due to Snowstorm | 2018-10-12 | 2018 | 2018-10 | Democrat | House | ND | Heidi Heitkamp | H001069 | www.heitkamp.senate.gov | legacy | Interest on Premiums Began Incurring October 1, but Snowstorm Delaying Harvest & Causing Financial Hardship for Farmers Senator Also Urges USDA to Revise Eligibility for Market Facilitation Program in Wake of Weather and Trade War Disruptions WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to waive or at least delay interest on crop insurance premiums for farmers affected by this week's snowstorm, which dumped up to 19 inches of snow on parts of eastern North Dakota. Interest began incurring on Multiple-peril Crop Insurance (MCPI) premiums on October 1, but the delayed harvest due to the recent snowstorm will cause many producers financial hardship as they lack cash flow to pay their crop insurance premiums. Heitkamp asked USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to waive or at minimum extend the date for which interest incurs to give farmers more time to get their crops out of the field and to market. Heitkamp also urged Perdue to allow farmers who haven't been able to harvest their crop to participate in the Market Facilitation Program (MFP). MFP was intended to help producers impacted by depressed commodity prices due to the administration's trade war, but they can only apply for assistance after they've harvested their crop. Farmers who are unable to harvest or lose their crop due to weather face significant hardship, and the program should be designed to fulfill its purpose and help them, Heitkamp told Perdue. The recent snowstorm and the administration's trade war have been a double whammy for farmers in eastern North Dakota, and USDA programs intended to help them need to be adjusted to take into account the difficult situation farmers have found themselves in, Heitkamp said. USDA needs to improve its assistance program for farmers affected by the trade war, and this snowstorm reinforces why farmers can't wait to harvest their crop to get assistance they're hurting now, and their livelihoods depend on USDA getting this right. Click here to view Heitkamp's letter to Perdue. Heitkamp is also urging Perdue to make improvements to USDA's aid package for farmers suffering from slumping commodity prices and an uncertain future for this season's crop. Heitkamp is pushing for more support for soybean farmers, because the current reimbursement formula doesn't take into account the increase in basis the cost of getting a crop to market that farmers in North Dakota have faced as a result of the trade war. Basis varies by region, and North Dakota farmers have seen their basis increase more than farmers in other regions. Heitkamp urged Secretary Perdue to consider regional variations in price and the widening basis for soybean farmers when calculating how much assistance to provide. While canola has not yet been hit with retaliatory tariffs, the price of canola is closely tied to the price of soybeans, and Heitkamp urged Secretary Perdue to make canola an eligible commodity for assistance due to the depressed prices farmers are facing. Heitkamp also expressed concerns that corn growers will be inadequately compensated for their losses. The farmer aid package proposes to compensate corn growers at one cent per bushel, much less that the decrease in price for a bushel of corn since June 1. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |