Louisiana Ag Commissioner: Crop Insurance Plans Guaranteed for Floods

Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain D.V.M., said the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has guaranteed that Morganza Spillway farmers whose crops have been damaged by flooding caused by the Mississippi River will be eligible for crop insurance payments in accordance with their crop insurance policies.

The ruling includes farmers in the larger Atchafalaya Basin area below the spillway whose crops will also be inundated by water after the May 14 opening of the Morganza Spillway.

Farmers who are unable to plant but purchased crop insurance will also be eligible for prevented planting payments in accordance with their policies, Strain said.

Strain said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator (FEMA) Craig Fugate issued a statement that crop insurance provisions will be honored.

“Secretary Vilsack and Administrator Fugate ruled that Morganza Spillway producers who purchased crop insurance and whose crops have been damaged by the flooding will be eligible for crop insurance indemnities in accordance with the provisions of their crop insurance polices,” Strain said. “We’re happy that USDA and FEMA have made a decision that is favorable for our producers.”

Strain said an estimated 15,256 acres of crops in the spillway and basin and another 2,853 in the fore bay area between the spillway gates and Mississippi River will be lost.

Strain said the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry coordinated with Governor Bobby Jindal and his staff, USDA, FEMA and the Corps of Engineers on the issue.

Source: Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry