WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2011—Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) will support crop insurance education and outreach in 47 states. Awards totaling approximately $13.6 million from two RMA programs—Targeted States and the Education and Outreach programs—will support thousands of American farmers, ranchers and producers.
He said the purpose of the programs is to ensure that small and underserved producers get the information they need to effectively manage their risk and remain productive.
The Risk Management Education and Outreach Agreements program is awarding $8.5 million to fund 109 agreements. Under the Risk Management Targeted States program, almost five million is being awarded to deliver crop insurance education and information to agricultural producers in 16 states designated as historically underserved with respect to crop insurance.
"Despite hardships and setbacks due to extreme weather conditions in many parts of the country, American agriculture is experiencing its strongest year overall thanks to the dedication and resilience of our farmers and ranchers," said Vilsack. "USDA is committed to diversity, inclusion and performance in everything we do, and we need to continue to ensure opportunities in agriculture for all Americans. Through these partnerships, traditionally underserved agricultural producers and those in targeted states will receive assistance in understanding and using risk management tools."
RMA administers these partnership projects as well as the Federal crop insurance program, with funding and authority from the Federal Crop Insurance Act. The partnerships announced today will provide farmers and ranchers access to a complete set of conferences, targeted instruction, strategies, and networking opportunities at a local level.
Complete listings of the agreements can be found on the RMA Web site at: http://www.rma.usda.gov/aboutrma/agreements/.
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