The USDA is implementing Klobuchar’s provision that will help beginning farmers and ranchers access crop insurance by cutting the costs of insurance by 10 percent and waiving administrative fees during their first five years of farming 

Agency will also implement a measure Klobuchar championed that will protect native prairie by making small changes to the crop insurance program to reduce the incentive to grow crops for the first time on native prairie, encouraging conservation of grasslands that wildlife use as habitat 

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is implementing two critical Farm Bill provisions she authored to help protect farmers and ranchers and improve conservation. The USDA is implementing Klobuchar’s provision that will help beginning farmers and ranchers access crop insurance by cutting the costs of insurance by 10 percent and waiving administrative fees during their first five years of farming. The agency will also implement a measure Klobuchar championed that will protect native prairie by making small changes to the crop insurance program to reduce the incentive to grow crops for the first time on native prairie, encouraging conservation of grasslands that wildlife use as habitat.

“Our beginning farmers and ranchers need support and certainty in order to grow and thrive,” Klobuchar said. “These new programs I fought to include in the Farm Bill will give our farmers and ranchers an important boost and improve conservation to help keep our rural economies and communities strong.”

The USDA recently announced it would be implementing another Klobuchar-authored provision that will eliminate payment reductions for grazing livestock on Conservation Reserve Program acres for new and beginning farmers, helping beginning producers get a start while also providing valuable ecological benefits to CRP land. The USDA will also implement a number of additional initiatives aimed at strengthening the financial security for beginning farmers and ranchers. This includes a waived service fee for enrolling in the Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program and increased payments under the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program. There will also be a new website that will provide easy access to USDA initiatives designed to help beginning farmers and ranchers. Klobuchar was a member of the Farm Bill conference committee, which was responsible for crafting the final Farm Bill.

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