Cotton farmers will be able to stack weather coverage on one crop insurance policy in 2027, USDA chief says at a Texas farm

Farmers who grow cotton and other eligible crops will be allowed to buy more than one endorsement on a single crop insurance policy for 2027 crops, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Friday during a visit to a Texas farm.

Rollins made the announcement at Giesenschlag Farms in Caldwell after a roundtable with farmers and agriculture leaders, according to the Agriculture Department and KBTX-TV, which covered the event.

What changes for growers

Under current rules, KBTX reported, cotton growers can cover a crop for only one type of weather disaster, choosing between hurricane and drought protection, which forces them to guess in advance which is more likely. USDA's Risk Management Agency will now let producers add multiple endorsements to one policy.

The agency plans to give insurers and agents the final rules by Nov. 30, according to the USDA announcement.

Matt Huey, with the South Texas Cotton and Grain Association, told KBTX that having to make that choice in advance is hard on growers, and that picking wrong is worse.

Trade

The second announcement concerns exports. USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service is designing a system, set to start in 2027, to confirm that Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia and Malaysia are buying American cotton. In return, those countries would get preferential tariff treatment on clothing made with American cotton and textile inputs, the department said.

KBTX reported that the United States gave up its standing as the largest cotton exporter in the world to Brazil in 2023.

"If we're not able to reverse this trend of only two of every 10 years our farmers are profitable, then we will continue to lose tens of thousands of farmers and ranchers every year," Rollins said, according to KBTX.

In the department's written statement, Rollins blamed the loss of the export title on the previous administration and said the new steps build on the Great American Cotton Plan that USDA launched in May. The plan lists four goals: more cotton use at home, more affordable cotton through higher domestic demand and production, better trade and more protection for growers against risk.

Rollins acknowledged that farming costs remain too high, KBTX reported. Seth Stevens, who manages United Ag, told the station the changes would help his organization serve its growers.

The announcement did not include a cost estimate for the insurance change or say how many Texas growers are expected to use it.

Sources

usda.gov

KBTX