Heavy rainfall, snow melt and flood conditions along the Missouri River have added to an already wet spring for farmers in the Midwest and Northern Plains. Farmers and ranchers in the flooded areas must contact their crop insurance companies at the first sign of damage to insured acreage, according to the Risk Management Agency (RMA), which administers the federal crop insurance program.

"USDA wants to assure affected producers that this flood event is covered by crop insurance for those insured farmers and ranchers in the flooded area," said RMA administrator William Murphy. "The flooding happening now is the result of extraordinary amounts of rainfall this spring and winter snow runoff, which is a natural cause of loss and is covered by crop insurance. We've spoken to the crop insurance companies and they assure us that they have adequate staff with additional adjusters sent as needed to help settle claims as soon as they can get into the fields."

Some farmers have voiced concerns that the flooded lands may not be covered by crop insurance if there was breach of a water-supporting structure near their land, such as the collapse of a levee. However, Murphy noted that actions taken by the Army Corps of Engineers to lessen property damage have not affected the coverage farmers have paid for with their crop insurance premiums.

Any additional questions may be directed to any RMA Regional Office. Information is also available at www.rma.usda.gov/aboutrma/fields/rsos.html.