Crop Insurance News

EARLY / LATE PLANT DATES

Early and late plant dates may have changed and vary by location within the State. Be sure to contact your GreenStone crop insurance specialist to get the specific dates for your area. It is important to note that crop acreage planted before the early plant date is not eligible for replant payments but will still be eligible for insurance coverage. The insurance guarantee is not impacted as long as producers follow good farming practices. Crops planted after the late plant date during the late plant period will also have reduced coverage. ■

ACCOUNTING & BILLING

Premium bills were due before October 1. Starting with the earliest Premium Bill date, payments are applied as follows: A) any unpaid finance or interest charge, B) unpaid administrative fees, and C) unpaid premiums. Please keep in mind that accrued interest on uncollected premium is attached, according with the terms of the Standard Reinsurance Agreement, and CANNOT be waived by the agent or AIP. If you cannot pay your premium before the March 15th Debt Termination Date, contact the AIP directly to set up a payment plan. Otherwise, you won’t be eligible for crop insurance or any other federally subsidized programs. ■

MULTI-COUNTY ENTERPRISE UNITS

RMA now allows a single Enterprise Unit (EU) structure that covers two adjoining counties. It is only available when authorized on the actuarial documents for crops which Revenue Protection (RP) is available. One county must individually qualify for EU as the primary and the other county must not qualify for EU. MCEU must be elected on or before the SCD and electing MCEU does not automatically make the county eligible MCEU. ■

POWER OF ATTORNEY (POA) AND SIGNATURES

Crop insurance documents requiring a signature must be signed by an authorized person. The Crop Insurance Handbook says that for a spouse or others to sign for the insured, they must be authorized by a POA or other legally sufficient document, even if the person is listed as an SBI on the application. Signature statements on the Application or Policy Change Form can serve as a legally sufficient document. For specific details, please consult your crop insurance specialist. ■

DRY BEAN PREVENTED PLANTING (PP) COVERAGE LEVEL CHANGES

PP coverage levels for dry beans has been reduced from 60% coverage down to 50%. PP coverage levels have changed for many other crops in recent years. See your crop insurance specialist for the most current levels and options for PP coverage. ■

PERSON TYPES & IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS

To better accommodate data reconciliation between the Farm Service Agency & RMA, there have been some changes made to the social security number and employer identification reporting requirements for individuals, estates and trusts. If you have recently made a change in how an entity has been set up, let your crop insurance specialist know and they will make sure your policy is renewed using the correct identifying numbers. These records need to be updated before the March 15th deadline. ■

CONTRACT PRICE ADDENDUM

The Risk Management Agency offers a contract price addendum that would allow a producer who receives a contract price for their crop to receive a crop insurance guarantee that is more reflective of the actual value of the crop. Under the addendum, insured producers would have the ability (where available and by choice) to use their personal contract price as their price election, or to use the existing crop insurance price election. If you grow specialty crops under contract and are interested in possibly using your contract price to set your crop insurance guarantee, make sure to ask your crop insurance specialist about the new contract price addendum. ■

ORGANIC CROPS

As a reminder, the USDA Risk Management Agency now requires all insured organic certified producers to provide a copy of their organic crop plan and organic certificate to their crop insurance specialist before the acreage reporting date. ■