The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing financial relief to farmers by extending the deadline for certain crop insurance payments and offering increased prevented-planting coverage. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced these measures at Minnesota Farmfest, along with plans for modernizing agricultural data collection. The USDA’s Risk Management Agency is allowing approved crop insurers to give producers an additional 60 days to pay premiums and administrative fees, with interest waived during the extension. Additionally, insured producers can now purchase an extra 5% of prevented-planting coverage, providing more protection against losses due to weather or other conditions. The USDA is also planning nationwide listening sessions to gather feedback on data collection and reporting from agricultural producers.