On July 27, the House Committee on Agriculture advanced H.R. 267, or the 2020 WHIP+ Authorization Act, which would authorize the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+) for 2020 and 2021 losses. This legislation, which extends the model that complements crop insurance, broadens the scope of WHIP+ to include losses from extreme cold and drought, such as the polar vortex seen in Texas earlier this year, as well as other disastrous weather events seen in the past two years.

“We are extremely grateful to see the House Agriculture Committee working in a bipartisan effort to provide essential support to not only sorghum producers, but all of America’s farmers and ranchers who have been detrimentally affected by natural disasters,” National Sorghum Producers Chairman Kody Carson, a sorghum farmer from Olton, Texas, said. “Sorghum producers had a challenging 2020 dealing with severe drought on the High Plains that crept into 2021. Currently, in a disaster that is still developing, farmers in South Texas and the Gulf Coast are struggling to get their crop out and salvage its value given torrential rains. The extension of WHIP+ into 2020 and 2021 improves upon the existing program and will offer much needed assistance during a particularly challenging, high cost and high stakes time for agriculture. We commend the members of the committee for recognizing the needs of producers and expediting this much needed legislation, and NSP is committed to providing support throughout the process.”

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This story originally appeared in the Summer 2021 Issue of Sorghum Grower magazine.