USDA’s Risk Management Agency is reminding farmers that crop insurance premiums are due January 31. Accrual of interest had been deferred for the 2019 crop year. “The reason why the agency is making a big deal right now is because if it’s not paid by then, the interest will attach on February 1, calculated from the date of the premium billing notice,” says RMA Administrator Martin Barbre. “We just want producers to understand that if they pay premiums by the end of this month they don’t pay any interest.” The extended interest deferral built on other steps taken by USDA to support farmers and ranchers impacted by flooding and other disasters. As of January 13, RMA has paid roughly $8.1 billion in overall claims for the 2019 crop year. Barbre met with farmers in North Dakota to discuss the challenges faced in 2019 this past fall. Between now and then, Barbre says RMA has been working with agents and adjusters to get claims processed as quickly as possible. “With passage of the disaster aid bill, we’ve been working with the Farm Service Agency to come up with numbers to help producers,” says Barbre. “We’re also working on coming up with a new way to address quality issues right now. In the past, quality adjustments were taken off of bushels. We hope to have something on that by at least the 2021 crop year.” Listen to the RRFN interview with Barbre.