Key Takeaways
- USDA Secretary Brooke L. Rollins announced three initiatives at Minnesota Farmfest on August 4, 2026, covering data collection, insurance payment timing and planting coverage.
- USDA will hold listening sessions at nine state fairs and agricultural events, including the Iowa State Fair, Wisconsin State Fair and Farm Progress Show, as part of a broader Data Modernization Plan.
- The USDA Risk Management Agency is giving producers up to 60 additional days to pay crop insurance premiums and fees on bills scheduled between July 1 and September 30, 2026, with interest waived during that window.
- RMA is reinstating an additional 5% prevented planting coverage option for insured producers, starting with the August 31, 2026 filing date for the 2027 crop year.
- RMA’s federal crop insurance program currently covers more than 130 crops nationwide.
USDA Announces Three-Part Package at Farmfest
Speaking at Minnesota Farmfest on August 4, 2026, USDA Secretary Brooke L. Rollins outlined three steps the agency is taking to address pressures facing U.S. farmers: a round of producer listening sessions tied to a forthcoming data plan, temporary flexibility on crop insurance payments, and an expanded planting coverage option.
“When I travel across farm country, I hear the same message over and over: producers want a USDA that works for them,” said Secretary Rollins. “We’re modernizing how USDA serves farmers, providing commonsense flexibility when it’s needed most, and strengthening the risk management tools producers depend on. We will continue listening, acting, and putting Farmers First because that’s exactly what President Trump has directed us to do.”
USDA Data Modernization Listening Sessions
USDA said it will hold a series of listening sessions across the country as it continues developing its Data Modernization Plan, an effort spanning multiple agencies that the department first flagged last month and expects to release later this year. The Research, Education, and Economics Mission Area, led by Under Secretary Scott Hutchins, is coordinating the work.
The sessions, intended to gather direct producer input and build on an earlier public Request for Information, will be held at the Indiana State Fair, Wisconsin State Fair, Penn State Ag Progress Days, Illinois State Fair, Dakotafest, Missouri State Fair, Iowa State Fair, Nebraska State Fair and the Farm Progress Show. USDA said the sessions are meant to restore producer confidence in its data and increase survey response rates.
Crop Insurance Payment Flexibility
USDA’s Risk Management Agency is authorizing Approved Insurance Providers to extend crop insurance premium and fee payment deadlines by up to 60 days for bills due between July 1 and September 30, 2026, with interest waived during the extension. RMA will also defer its own collection of unpaid producer amounts from insurance providers and waive related interest starting with the August accounting cycle.
Expanded Prevented Planting Option
RMA is bringing back an additional 5% prevented planting coverage option for insured producers, available beginning with the August 31, 2026 filing date covering the 2027 crop year and beyond, giving growers more room to manage risk when weather prevents normal planting.
