Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) speaks with farmers. Photo: Daron Selvig, KFGO News
HORACE, N.D. (KFGO) – Federal and local officials outlined a two-part plan Tuesday to protect upstream farmers whose land may be inundated during operations of the Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion project.
Because standard federal crop insurance covers natural disasters rather than man-made flood control operations, the proposal relies on both local funding and federal legislative fixes to ensure producers are made whole.
Under the first part of the plan, the Metro Flood Diversion Authority is establishing a $25 million crop loss program to provide 100% coverage for damaged crops and match prevented planting coverage. The funding comes from $100 million in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project savings secured by Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.
“Essentially what we’re talking about today is doing everything we can to make sure that crop insurance still works for these farmers upstream of the diversion,” Hoeven said. “And that’s very important because crop insurance is their number one risk management tool.”
To address long-term impacts, Hoeven inserted a provision into the Senate Farm Bill that excludes flood-impacted years from a producer’s Actual Production History, preventing reduced yields from driving up future premium costs.
Fargo Mayor Josh Boschee emphasized the role local landowners played in shaping the agreement.
“On behalf of the Diversion, I want to thank all of our landowners who have worked with us meticulously through this process,” Boschee said. “We know it’s not always been easy, and we always committed to making sure that we listened. And through that listening is how we were able to come up with solutions such as this.”
Diversion Authority Executive Director Jason Benson noted that subcommittees have also been established to manage the fund and oversee post-flood debris removal. Hoeven expects the Farm Bill provision to move out of committee this fall.
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