LARAMIE, WYO, August 23, 2019 – “We are thankful that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced today that federal crop insurance will cover crop losses resulting from the July 17 tunnel collapse that stopped irrigation water to farms for the Goshen Irrigation District in Wyoming and the Gering-Ft. Laramie Irrigation District in Nebraska. This is great news for many farmers who have invested so much into their crops and now face devastating losses due to loss of irrigation water that is out of their control.”“Wyoming Farm Bureau was one of the many voices that encouraged USDA to ensure these losses were covered. We want to thank Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, RMA Administrator Barbre and his team and the Wyoming Congressional Delegation along with the numerous others who provided important insights to aid RMA in arriving at this decision.” “With so many unknowns still out there regarding the tunnel repair, it is helpful that this decision has been issued to help the farmers with some certainty in their management of this difficult situation.” “This is a good step in the right direction for a little bit of relief for those farmers with crop insurance who have been facing uncertainty on whether or not their crop losses would be insurable.” The Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general agriculture organization. The primary goals of the organization are to protect private property rights and help members achieve an equitable return on their investment. Visit www.wyfb.org.