LANSING (March 13, 2020) — U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), a longtime member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, introduced new bipartisan legislation to ensure that farmers can plant beneficial cover crops without facing crop insurance penalties when bad weather prevents them from planting their crops for the season. Chuck Lippstreu, president of the Michigan Agri-Business Association, issued the following statement on this bill introduction: “Last year was Michigan’s wettest in recorded history and we remain in a time of above-average precipitation, so this bipartisan effort by Sen. Debbie Stabenow to help ensure cover crops are an option on acres with prevented planting claims is good news for Michigan agriculture. As farmers and their trusted ag retail advisors look to cover crops for both economic and stewardship benefits, the Cover Crop Flexibility Act will provide some added certainty, an important backstop as we start the 2020 planting season.” The full media release is here from Senator Stabenow’s office.
