A group of U.S. senators is urging the Federal Crop Insurance Corp. to create an index-based, or parametric, insurance policy. They argue that this approach would respond more effectively to the risks farmers face from extreme weather.
The Withstanding Extreme Agricultural Threats by Harvesting Economic Resilience Act would establish multiperil index insurance linked to agricultural income losses.
It would rely on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, satellites, climate models, and other sources, according to a statement from Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland.
The bill directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to explore a parametric insurance product using its research and development authority, according to a fact sheet from Vermont Democrat Sen. Peter Welch’s office.
The WEATHER Act would base insurance coverage on farm income instead of crop prices, better aligning income loss with production loss, Welch said. It would also reduce paperwork by automatically triggering payments when a weather event occurs.
Payments would be issued within 30 days after an event surpasses a predetermined county-level threshold, Van Hollen said. Covered risks include high winds, excessive moisture, flooding, extreme heat, abnormal freezes, hail, wildfire, drought, and other threats determined by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
The proposal comes as farmers face increasingly severe storms fueled by shifting climate patterns, said David Howard, policy development director for the National Young Farmers Coalition.
“As farmers work to recover from ongoing and future challenges, it is clear that agricultural climate risk policy needs more options,” Howard said. “Young Farmers supports the WEATHER Act of 2025, recognizing its potential to strengthen existing resources and help young farmers endure these challenges.”
