At the Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show, Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association President Jake Thompson spoke out about disaster payments. Thompson explained some producers who qualified for drought relief through the ERP2 program were later asked to return a portion of the funds. “The FSA gave the money out, but then said, ‘sorry, you didn’t have every acre underinsured,'” Thompson said. “We just felt that wasn’t right.” Thompson emphasized that this issue is particularly concerning for forage crops like alfalfa, which are harder to insure. “There’s not a lot of great avenues for insurance for that,” he said. “When you’re raising alfalfa, it’s about producing high-quality feed, not just yield.”
