Does the Farm Bill Expiration Affect Your Crop Insurance?

The short answer: No. Federal crop insurance does not expire when the farm bill does.

Key points

• Federal crop insurance is permanently authorized and funded through mandatory appropriations. The farm bill’s expiration does not cancel your policy or change your deadlines.
• The 2018 Farm Bill’s latest extension ended September 30, 2026. New Conservation Reserve Program enrollment has stopped, and trade promotion programs lost operating authority.
• Several specialty crop programs received funding increases rather than cuts, including plant pest and disease work and the National Clean Plant Network.
• Coverage options improved in 2025 and are available now: Whole-Farm Revenue Protection to 90%, higher premium support on supplemental products, and beginning farmer benefits extended from five crop years to ten.
• Organic certification cost share applications close December 31, 2026, and the current window covers two program years.

What this page covers

• Why your federal crop insurance continues
• What has changed for farmers
• Coverage options that have improved
• What this means by region
• Four things growers should do now
• What happens if Congress does not pass a new farm bill
• Frequently asked questions

If you grow apples in Washington, wine grapes in California, pecans in Georgia, or citrus in Arizona, the latest headlines about the farm bill may have left you with questions. Does your crop insurance still protect your operation? Will your coverage change? Do you need to take action before the next growing season?

Federal crop insurance remains in place, even though the 2018 Farm Bill’s latest extension expired on September 30, 2026. But not every agricultural program is in the same position. Some have been disrupted. Others received funding increases. And recent legislation created coverage options that are already available.

Why Your Federal Crop Insurance Continues

Federal crop insurance is structured differently from many other agricultural programs, and two separate mechanisms keep it running.

First, it is permanently authorized under the Federal Crop Insurance Act. It does not need to be reauthorized each time Congress passes a farm bill. The Congressional Research Service states that the program “is permanently authorized outside of the farm bill and does not expire,” and that “a reauthorization of the program is not needed in the farm bill.”

Second, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation is funded through mandatory appropriations of “such sums as necessary.” It does not wait on an annual appropriation, and it does not wait on a farm bill.

For growers, that means:

• The farm bill’s expiration does not cancel your existing federal crop insurance policy.
• Your coverage remains subject to the terms and conditions of your policy.
• Your crop insurance deadlines and reporting responsibilities still apply.
• Federal crop insurance continues to provide a risk management option for eligible crops and operations.

A farm bill expiration and a federal government shutdown are also two different things. They involve separate laws and separate funding processes. A shutdown was averted on October 1, and federal agencies are operating under a continuing resolution through December 11, 2026. FSA and RMA offices are open.

The bottom line: you do not need to purchase a new policy because the farm bill expired. You should continue managing your existing policy and your upcoming coverage decisions as usual.

Helpful resource: USDA Farm Bill Updates

What Has Changed for Farmers?

The 2018 Farm Bill was extended three times while Congress worked toward replacement legislation. The most recent extension ended on September 30, 2026.

Some agricultural programs depend on periodic congressional authorization, and the lapse has created real uncertainty for them.

New Conservation Reserve Program enrollment has stopped. FSA has told county offices there is no statutory authority to approve contracts after September 30. Existing contracts continue to be administered and paid.

Trade promotion programs lost their operating authority. The Market Access Program and Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops did not receive mandatory funding in the 2025 reconciliation law. Based on how the 2023 lapse played out, the practical effect on grant programs tends to be delay rather than cancellation, but growers and cooperatives who rely on export promotion should expect a slower cycle.

Several specialty crop programs received funding increases, not cuts. Effective FY2026, Plant Pest and Disease Management funding rose to $90 million a year, the National Clean Plant Network holds a statutory floor of at least $5 million within that total, and the Specialty Crop Research Initiative rose from $80 million to $175 million. For tree fruit, vineyard and nursery operations, that is the money behind pest and disease response and behind the virus-tested propagative material used in new plantings.

Major commodity and conservation programs are funded through fiscal 2031. Legislation passed in 2025 continued Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC), Price Loss Coverage (PLC), Dairy Margin Coverage and the working lands conservation programs, along with 19 other programs.

The important distinction is that a farm bill expiration does not mean every USDA program stops operating. The impact depends on which programs you use and how each one is authorized and funded.

If your operation relies on conservation enrollment, specialty crop grants, export promotion or other USDA assistance, confirm the current status with the administering agency before making financial commitments.

Your Crop Insurance Options Have Improved

While attention has focused on uncertainty in Washington, a set of federal crop insurance improvements has already taken effect.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, expanded coverage options and increased federal premium support. RMA implemented the changes for all crops with sales closing dates on or after July 1, 2025, which means they apply to the 2026 crop year and forward.

If your last serious coverage review was in 2024, the options in front of you have changed.

1. Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Now Offers Up to 90% Coverage

Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) protects eligible farm revenue under a single policy. Rather than insuring each crop separately, it can provide revenue protection across multiple commodities within one operation.

For 2026, the maximum coverage level increased from 85% to 90% of approved revenue.

That matters most for diversified farms, including operations producing combinations of fruit, vegetables, nuts and other agricultural products.

Higher coverage is not automatically the right choice for every operation. WFRP eligibility, revenue limits, premium costs, recordkeeping requirements and interactions with other coverage all need to be weighed together.

What to ask your agent: Would Whole-Farm Revenue Protection complement or improve the coverage already in place for your operation?

2. Increased Premium Support for Supplemental Coverage

The Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) premium subsidy increased from 65% to 80%. An 80% subsidy rate also applies to:

• Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO)
• Margin Coverage Option (MCO)
• Hurricane Insurance Protection Wind Index (HIP-WI)
• Fire Insurance Protection Smoke Index (FIP-SI)

These products address different types and layers of agricultural risk. They are not interchangeable, availability varies by crop and county, and some cannot be combined with each other.

The distinction worth understanding is how a product pays. Index-based products such as HIP-WI and FIP-SI pay on a measured trigger in your county rather than on an assessment of your individual crop. A claim under your underlying policy works the other way, paying on documented loss subject to your policy’s terms.

SCO eligibility has also expanded. Growers can now purchase SCO regardless of their Agriculture Risk Coverage election with the Farm Service Agency.

What to ask your agent: Are there supplemental products available for your crop and county that would improve your protection at a reasonable cost, and does each one pay on an index or on documented damage?

3. Beginning Farmer Benefits Now Last Ten Crop Years

Beginning Farmer and Rancher (BFR) status for federal crop insurance previously covered five crop years. The 2025 law raised it to ten, effective with the 2026 crop year.

RMA defines a beginning farmer as someone who has not spent more than ten crop years actively operating and managing a farm or ranch while holding an insurable interest, whether as an owner-operator, landlord, tenant or sharecropper. Certain crop years can be excluded from that count, including years before age 18, years enrolled in post-secondary study, and years on active duty in the U.S. military.

The benefits go beyond premium support:

• Additional premium subsidy on buy-up coverage: 15 percentage points in crop years one and two, 13 in year three, 11 in year four, and 10 in years five through ten.
• Waived administrative fee on catastrophic and buy-up policies.
• Use of a previous producer’s production history on transferred acreage, with their consent.
• Yield substitution raised from 60% to 80% of the transitional yield.

For producers establishing a new orchard or vineyard, where the gap between planting and first commercial crop is measured in years rather than months, a ten-year window reaches considerably further into the life of the operation than five did.

If you aged out under the old five-year rule, it is worth asking again. BFR status now runs until the earliest of three things: exceeding ten crop years with an insurable interest, exhausting ten years of benefits, or cancelling the application. A grower who used five years of benefits but has fewer than ten crop years of farming behind them may have years still available. Eligibility is not automatic and depends on your individual history.

What to ask your agent: Based on my actual crop years with an insurable interest, do I have beginning farmer years left?

Have You Reviewed Your Coverage Since the 2025 Changes?

New coverage options and higher premium support may change the choices available for your operation, and those changes are in effect now rather than waiting on a new farm bill.

Talk with an Insure.ag specialty crop insurance agent about what applies to your farm. [CONTACT LINK]

What the Farm Bill Expiration Means by Region

Not every farm faces the same risks, and not every federal program is equally relevant to every operation. Here is what is specific to the regions Insure.ag serves.

Washington: Apples, Cherries and Pears

Existing federal crop insurance coverage is unchanged. The more immediate work is reviewing whether your coverage still reflects your production and financial exposure, and confirming your upcoming deadlines.

For growers with new plantings in the ground or planned, the Clean Plant Network funding increase is the one piece of farm bill news that touches you directly, because that program supports the virus-tested nursery stock those plantings depend on.

California: Wine Grapes and Specialty Crops

Smoke taint remains the risk management question most California wine grape growers are asking about, and the answer depends on which instrument you hold.

The Fire Insurance Protection Smoke Index (FIP-SI) is an endorsement that covers a portion of the deductible under an eligible Grape Crop Provisions policy. It pays on a county-level smoke index rather than on documented damage to an individual vineyard, so it supplements your grape policy rather than replacing it.

Review both with an agent who understands vineyard operations.

Related reading: Does Crop Insurance Cover Smoke Damage to Wine Grapes?

Callout: How FIP-SI works

FIP-SI is an endorsement that attaches to an eligible Grape Crop Provisions policy with the same insurance provider. It covers a portion of that policy’s deductible.

Payment is triggered when a county records enough qualifying Smoke Events, measured from NOAA Hazard Mapping System data, to meet the County Loss Trigger. The size of the payment depends on the cumulative number of those events.

Because the trigger is county-level, your own yields and revenues do not enter the calculation. A vineyard can take documented smoke damage and receive no FIP-SI payment, and a vineyard with no loss at all can receive one. No notice of loss is filed for FIP-SI, though your underlying policy’s requirements still apply.

It is available for grapes insured under the Grape Crop Provisions in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, in the counties listed in the actuarial documents. The premium subsidy is fixed at 80%, and FIP-SI cannot be combined with the Enhanced Coverage Option.

Georgia: Pecans, Peanuts and Cotton

Federal crop insurance continues independently of the farm bill’s expiration. Commodity support programs such as ARC and PLC operate under different statutory rules.

Peanuts deserve particular attention. If Congress does not act and the older commodity statutes known as permanent law come back into effect, peanuts receive no support under them at all. A Georgia operation with peanuts in the rotation has more riding on the coming months than one growing only pecans.

On storm exposure, the Hurricane Insurance Protection Wind Index is available in parts of the Southeast and carries 80% premium support. Like FIP-SI, it pays on a county-level index rather than on damage to your crop. Ask your agent whether it applies to your insured crops and counties.

Arizona: Citrus and Diversified Operations

Arizona growers should continue reviewing their policies and upcoming deadlines as usual.

Operations producing multiple commodities may benefit from a Whole-Farm Revenue Protection conversation, particularly at the new 90% coverage level. Growers relying on pest management or specialty crop research programs should check current availability separately from their insurance coverage, since those run on different authority.

Across every region, the question is the same: does your existing insurance still reflect the risks, costs and needs of your operation?

Four Things Growers Should Do Now

You cannot control when Congress passes a new farm bill. You can take steps to protect your operation.

1. Confirm Your Next Crop Insurance Deadline

Sales closing dates vary by crop, county and policy, and the farm bill’s expiration does not extend them. Those dates are published in RMA’s actuarial documents, and the program that issues them is permanently authorized and mandatorily funded, so a lapse does not move them.

Use USDA’s Actuarial Information Browser to find the dates that apply to you, or ask your agent to confirm them. Sales closing, acreage reporting and production reporting deadlines are not the same date.

2. Review Your Current Coverage

Recent changes may mean you have options that did not exist when you last reviewed your policy. Ask whether your coverage levels, unit structure and any supplemental endorsements still make sense.

The goal is not to buy more insurance. It is to know whether your coverage matches the risks you actually carry.

3. Check Organic Certification Cost Share Before December 31

FSA is reimbursing eligible organic producers up to 75% of certification costs, capped at $750 per scope.

Because the current application window covers both the 2025 and 2026 program years, eligible organic growers should check their reimbursement opportunities before the December 31, 2026 deadline. Waiting could mean missing assistance for expenses incurred in either year.

Reimbursement depends on eligibility, qualifying expenses, application requirements and available funding. If your operation participates in conservation or other USDA programs, verify the current requirements directly with the agency administering each one.

4. Speak With an Agent Who Understands Your Crop

Crop insurance is not one-size-fits-all. An apple orchard in Washington faces different risks from a vineyard in California or a pecan operation in Georgia.

An agent who writes your crop in your county can tell you what is available, what it covers and what it costs.

What Happens If Congress Does Not Pass a New Farm Bill?

If Congress does not extend or replace the expired farm bill, further consequences arrive in 2027.

The expired bill stops suspending the older commodity statutes known as permanent law, chiefly the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 and the Agricultural Act of 1949. The Congressional Research Service says permanent law would begin to take effect on January 1, 2027, with dairy the first commodity affected.

The implications vary by commodity, and none of this means federal crop insurance expires on January 1, 2027. Most specialty crops sit outside permanent law entirely: apples, pears, cherries, grapes, citrus, tree nuts and blueberries are not basic commodities under the 1949 Act. Peanuts are the exception that matters to our Georgia growers, as noted above.

The legislative situation may change. Congress is scheduled to return on November 9, following the November 3 midterm elections, and Senate Agriculture Chairman Boozman has said he expects action during the lame-duck session. Rely on updated USDA guidance rather than headlines when making coverage decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does crop insurance stop when the farm bill expires?

No. Federal crop insurance is permanently authorized under the Federal Crop Insurance Act. The farm bill’s expiration does not end the program or cancel existing policies.

Is federal crop insurance part of the farm bill?

Federal crop insurance is frequently addressed in farm bill legislation, and Congress can change its provisions through farm bills or other laws. Its underlying authorization is permanent and does not depend on passing a new farm bill.

Will my crop insurance premiums increase because the farm bill expired?

The expiration itself does not increase premiums. Your premium can change for other reasons, including coverage elections, crop and county rates, insured values and applicable subsidy rules.

Have crop insurance deadlines changed?

No. Sales closing and reporting dates are set in RMA’s actuarial documents and are not moved by the farm bill situation. Confirm your crop-specific dates through USDA RMA or your agent.

Can I still file a crop insurance claim?

Yes. The program continues, and claims remain subject to applicable policy requirements. If you experience a potential loss, notify your agent or approved insurance provider promptly and follow the required procedures.

Can I still apply for the Conservation Reserve Program?

Not currently. New CRP contract approvals are paused following the expiration of statutory authority. Existing contracts continue to be honored. Check with your local FSA office for current guidance.

Did the farm bill expiration close USDA offices?

No. The farm bill lapse and government funding are separate matters. A shutdown was averted on October 1 and agencies are funded through December 11, 2026. FSA and RMA offices are open.

When will Congress pass a new farm bill?

There is no guaranteed date. The Senate Agriculture Committee reported its bill in September and Chairman Boozman has said he expects passage during the lame-duck session, but Congress may also approve another extension or take other action. Check official congressional and USDA updates for current status.

Helpful Farm Bill and Crop Insurance Resources

• USDA Farm Bill Updates. Information on federal agricultural programs and farm bill developments.
• USDA Risk Management Agency: Farm Bill. Official guidance on federal crop insurance and legislative changes.
• Congressional Research Service, The Farm Bill After FY2025 Budget Reconciliation: Frequently Asked Questions. An in-depth explanation of how recent legislation interacts with farm bill programs.
• USDA Actuarial Information Browser. Crop- and county-specific insurance information and important dates. [ADD LINK]

Have Questions About Your Crop Insurance? We’re Here to Help.

At Insure.ag, we believe farmers deserve clear answers and coverage built around the realities of their operations.

Our Farmer First approach means helping you understand your options, prepare for important deadlines, and make informed decisions about protecting what you have worked hard to build.

Whether you are reviewing an existing policy, exploring additional protection, or trying to understand how recent changes affect your farm, our specialty crop insurance team is here to help.

Connect with the Insure.ag team

Want to Understand the Farm Bill? Watch Agriculture Crunch

If you want the background rather than the current status, Farm Journal Foundation’s Agriculture Crunch podcast has an 11-minute discussion with Dr. Stephanie Mercier, who worked on previous farm bills.

She walks through how the legislation is built, covering its history back to 1933, the eleven or twelve titles it contains, why nutrition programs account for 75 to 80 percent of the spending, and what happens to smaller programs that lose their funding baseline when a bill lapses.

The episode was recorded in August 2026, before the September 30 expiration, so treat it as an explanation of how the farm bill works rather than an update on where it stands.

Last reviewed: October 16, 2026. Next scheduled review: after the lame-duck session concludes.

This article provides general educational information and is not a guarantee of insurance coverage or eligibility. Coverage, rates, subsidies, policy availability and deadlines vary by crop, location, insurance product and individual circumstances. Refer to your policy documents and consult a licensed crop insurance agent for guidance specific to your operation.