King, Murphy Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Small Farmers from Financial Risk

WASHINGTON, D.C.-U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) have introduced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize and strengthen the Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) programs, which help farmers manage financial risk through diversification, marketing, or conservation practices. The Agriculture Management Assistance Act would boost funding for the AMA to $30 million, increase funding limits for farmers to $200,000 over five years, and expand the eligible uses for these funds to include: soil health improvements, composting, implementing organic farming, developing value-added processing, and food safety certification in addition to existing authorized uses such as water management structure and soil erosion control.

The AMA is only available to 16 states-including Maine-that have historically low rates of participation in the Federal Crop Insurance Program.

"Maine's farmers are the backbone of our rural communities, and they deserve the same safeguards and assistance that we provide other industries across the country," said Senator King. "The Agricultural Management Assistance Act will help ensure that Maine farms have the tools they need to manage financial risks, handle nature's evolving challenges, and continue to produce the food that supports our local economies and families."

"Connecticut's small farmers are really important to the diversity of our state's food supply, but they face unique challenges, especially as climate change worsens," said Senator Murphy. "Our bill provides small farmers with the support they need to navigate financial risks and invests in making their farms more resilient and efficient in the long term."

To be eligible for Agriculture Management Assistance Act, producers must:

• Be engaged in livestock or agricultural production.
• Have an interest in the farming operation associated with the land being offered for AMA enrollment.
• Have control of the land for the term of the proposed contract.
• Be in compliance with the provisions for protecting the interests of tenants and sharecroppers, including the provisions for sharing AMA payments on a fair and equitable basis.
• Be within appropriate payment limitation requirements.

Senator King is a staunch advocate for the Maine agriculture industry. Earlier this year, he called on the Trump Administration to ensure its relief for specialty crop farmers addresses the needs of blueberry, potato, and apple farmers across Maine. Last year, he introduced the American Grown Act , bipartisan legislation to prioritize domestic horticulturists and farmers, and strengthen the American floral industry. Senator King cosponsored the Honor Farmer Contracts Act which released withheld federal funding and allocated it back to farmers as Congress had intended. Additionally, he is an original sponsor of the bipartisan Dairy PRIDE Act which combats the mislabeling of non-dairy products and requires accurate labeling of dairy and non-dairy products as mislabeling is harmful to dairy farmers selling their products in a crowded marketplace. Senator King also cosponsored the Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act to direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to give milk producers a greater voice in dairy pricing.

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