Senate Leaders Urge USDA to Restore Prevented Plant Coverage

U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee leaders are pressing the Department of Agriculture to reinstate additional crop insurance coverage for acres that go unplanted due to adverse weather. Chairman John Boozman, Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, and senior member John Hoeven led a bipartisan letter to Secretary Brooke Rollins calling the removal of the buy-up option “troubling” for farmers who rely on it as a key risk management tool. The letter, also signed by 14 other senators, including Majority Leader John Thune, emphasizes that prevented-planting buy-up coverage has long been a guarantee for U.S. growers. USDA data shows that over 67 million acres across all 50 states and all covered commodities were impacted in 2025. The senators urged the department to restore the coverage for 2027 and beyond to provide certainty when uncontrollable events prevent timely planting.