U.S. Rep. Scott Franklin and Sen. Ashley Moody introduced bipartisan legislation on Wednesday, aimed at helping Florida farmers recover from damaging freezes by expanding crop insurance options, a proposal endorsed by major agricultural groups and farmers across the state.
The Temperature Event Mitigation Policy Act, or TEMP Act, would direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency to research and develop an affordable insurance option to cover losses caused by extreme cold and freeze events. As Florida growers assess the damage from a recent hard freeze, gaps in insurance coverage for specialty crops have been revealed.
Moody said the recent freeze highlighted shortcomings in existing crop insurance programs for Florida farmers.
“While agriculture is a top driver of our state’s economy, many of our growers were recently left facing serious losses without access to affordable insurance options following the recent deep freeze,” Moody said.
The TEMP Act will examine possible solutions to help farmers recover after extreme cold weather hits.
Franklin said freezes can devastate crops, including citrus and sugarcane, and that current insurance products often fail to cover cold-weather damage at reasonable rates.
“Our bipartisan TEMP Act helps fill that gap by creating a temperature-based index policy that finally gives specialty-crop producers a workable, affordable option when cold weather strikes,” Franklin said.
Jeb S. Smith, president of the Florida Farm Bureau Federation, said recent record cold temperatures have had real impacts on farmers statewide and that the legislation would help producers protect their operations. Matt Joyner, CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, said freeze events can destroy crops within hours and that citrus growers currently lack options to mitigate that risk.
Mike Joyner, president of the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association, said a temperature-based policy would strengthen producers’ ability to recover from increasingly unpredictable weather.
Specialty crop producers in Florida often face high premiums for whole-farm insurance, with some policies costing thousands of dollars per acre. While certain risks, such as wind, are insurable at reasonable rates, comparable coverage for freeze damage is largely unavailable. Supporters say the TEMP Act would create an index-based policy reflecting actual temperature impacts, giving growers a practical tool to manage risk and recover more quickly after severe cold.
Source - https://flvoicenews.com
