USDA: Farmers can hay, graze and chop cover crops on prevent plant acres

Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (USDA-RMA) announced that agricultural producers with crop insurance can hay, graze or chop cover crops on prevent plant acres for silage, haylage or baleage at any time and still receive 100% of the prevented planting payment. Previously, cover crops could only be hayed, grazed or chopped after Nov. 1 on prevent plant acres, or the prevented planting payment was reduced.

The decision allows flexibility for the 2021 crop year and makes the change permanent for future years.

For full details on this policy change, visit USDA-RMA’s prevented planting webpage at https://rma.usda.gov/Topics/Prevented-Planting.