NDFU Defends PP Buy-Up Option

The Risk Management Agency eliminated the voluntary five percent buy-up option for prevented planting crop insurance coverage. North Dakota Farmers Union President Matt Perdue is asking USDA to reverse its decision. “We don’t think that there is any justification for eliminating that important option that passes the smell test,” said Perdue. “We’re asking them to admit they got it wrong here and make sure that farmers have this important risk-management tool moving forward.” When RMA eliminated the buy-up option, it said it primarily benefited the Dakotas. “It was frustrating to see them throw the Dakotas under the bus; the Prairie Pothole region under the bus. This not a Dakota-specific tool, it is used in other states.”