Crop Insurance Calendar

APPLE REMINDERS—

COVID-19 ADDITIONAL DEFERRAL OF INTEREST CHARGES

AIPs are authorized to provide additional time for policyholders to make payment of premium and administrative fees. Interest accrual on premium payments and administrativem fees will be waived to the earliest of an additional 60 days of the scheduled payment due date or the termination date on policies with premium billing dates between August 1, 2020, and September 30, 2020. AIPs will begin to accrue interest after this additional period for unpaid premium and administrative fees. AIPs are also authorized to provide additional time for policyholders to make payment for Written Payment Agreements due between August 1, 2020, and September 30, 2020. Payments may be extended up to 60 days of the scheduled payment due date and considered a timely payment. Such extension of time will not be considered a modification of the Written Payment Agreement, and the AIP may waive any additional interest for the

OCTOBER 15 Forage Underwriting Report Signature Due Date November 20, 2020 is the sales closing deadline to change your current coverage or take out a new policy for the 2021 crop year. Premiums are not billed to you until August 15, 2021 and are due September 30. Your current coverage will carry over for 2021 if you do not change anything in writing by November 20. January 15 is the acreage and yield reporting deadline for fruit. PLEASE REPORT ACRES AND PRODUCTION AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE! The County Transitional Yield (T-Yield) and 2021 prices have been recently announced. That information will be included in your renewal information later this year, or you can contact your crop

insurance specialist for more details. ■ payment during this 60-day period. 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. ■

END OF INSURANCE PERIOD

Insurance ends on each unit or part of unit at the earliest of: • Harvest • Final adjustment of loss • Applicable calendar date in the crop or special provisions • Abandonment • Or, as otherwise specified in the Crop Provisions Provisions require a Notice of Loss (NOL) within 72 hours of damage discovery but not later than 15 days after the end of insurance period. Revenue losses must be submitted no later than 45 days after release of Harvest Price. ■

CO-MINGLED PRODUCTION

Please be aware that any production from 2019 being carried over into the 2020 harvest needs to be measured or marked by an adjuster prior to adding the current year’s kept separate by unit through bin markings. If you need a bin measurement, call your crop insurance specialist. ■

ACREAGE & PRODUCTION REPORTS

It is the customer’s responsibility to report the crop that was planted in each section, the planting date, the percent share of that crop and the quantity harvested. Reporting your crop accurately and double checking everything is very important. Corrections or changes cannot be made after the reporting deadline. If you have any questions or would like assistance, just contact your local GreenStone crop insurance team. ■

Crop Insurance Calendar...

production. Added production needs to be • Total destruction of the crop

25

Wheat Final Plant Date*

31 31

End of Insurance Period (loss reporting deadline) for Fall Crops

Final Claim Reporting Date for Dry Beans NOVEMBER 5

End of Insurance Period (loss reporting deadline) for Apples

14

Wheat Production Reports Due

15 15 20

Wheat & Forage Acreage Reports Due

Final Claim Reporting Date for Sugar Beets

Fruit Sales Close Date & End of Insurance Period for Grapes DECEMBER 10

End of Insurance Period (loss reporting deadline) for Spring Crops

JANUARY 15

Fruit Acreage/Production Reports & Pre-Acceptance Worksheets Due

Close to Home

➡ Below: Cherry farmer John Gallagher (center) with some of his ten children and grandchildren.

A CHERRY FARMER IN LEELANAU COUNTY

FIFTH-GENERATION CHERRY FARMER JOHN GALLAGHER HAS EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE FARMING CHALLENGES OVER THE MANY YEARS HE’S BEEN IN BUSINESS, BUT ACKNOWLEDGES 2020 MAY BE THE TOUGHEST TEST OF ENDURANCE THE LEELANAU COUNTY FARM HAS EVER HAD TO WITHSTAND.

At 23, Gallagher purchased a small cherry farm through the Farm Service Agency (FSA), eventually merging it with the family farm when his father passed away seven years later. He has accumulated over 400 acres, including 210 acres of fruit orchards and a thriving agritourism business specializing in scenic, on-site weddings (www.bayviewweddings.com). Overlooking Grand Traverse Bay in the ‘Cherry Capital of the World’, the farm grows sweet and tart cherries on an ideal landscape. The acreage is hilly and wooded; cool air rolls off the bay and over the grounds, producing the perfect fruitnurturing environment. Despite the climate and the area’s astonishing beauty, market fluctuations, foreign imports, brown rot, a shrinking number of cherry processors and the coronavirus pandemic have negatively impacted Gallagher’s season and Michigan’s cherry industry as a whole. But Gallagher’s not complaining – he’s taking action. “COVID-19 restrictions have affected our farm workers and our wedding business,” says John. “My son, John III and daughter-inlaw Rose, have done a great job of creating venues for elopement ceremonies and small-sized weddings. We’re adapting to the pandemic. Our biggest, ongoing challenge is with market pricing and the lack of legislative protection from ‘cherry dumping’ from Turkey. “Cherry growers in the USA cannot compete with world trade that is subsidized and has currency that’s worth 10 cents to our dollar,” he adds. “I work to keep my trees healthy and keep the fruit safe. But when you’re growing cherries below cost, and you’re paying a processor to take your fruit – that’s not sustainable. My father, my grandfather, neither of them went through this, and without legislation I don’t know how we, as growers in a tiny industry, are going to solve the issue.”

Growing advocacy

John and his family have stepped up to become involved with legislative matters affecting fruit growers at the state and federal levels. As a Cherry Industry Administrative Board (CIAB) member, he feels strongly that the American public deserves to understand their food supply chain, and where their food originates. Two of John’s sons, John III and Jordan, are actively working to spotlight the effects of unrestricted imports on what, four years ago, was Michigan’s third largest crop. In addition to his legislative advocacy, John proactively purchased Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) from GreenStone Farm Credit Services to protect his orchards from an unstable market. The insurance has given him time to grapple with current market factors and has effectively saved his operation.

Whole Farm Revenue Protection provides a risk management safety net for all commodities on the farm under one insurance policy. If you raise less than three commodities, you can insure from 50-75 percent of your approved revenue. If you raise more than three or more commodities, you can insure up to 85 percent. Losses occur when your actual revenue from crops and animal products falls below their guaranteed revenue, which is the approved revenue multiplied by the coverage level. Like other forms of insurance, premium levels will depend on the likelihood of a claim and the level of deductible chosen.

“I sat down with the adjuster a year and a half ago,” Gallagher states. “And after we penciled through a three-hour meeting he told me yes, I had a claim under WFRP and that I would have enough to run the farm this year. “I’ve talked to my neighbors, other growers, who thought they were insured. I told them about Whole Farm Revenue Protection and explained what it covered, and they’ve thanked me up and down for sharing the information. They didn’t have a claim under their previous coverage, and now they do and they’re able to keep their farms.” Senior Crop Insurance Specialist Cory Blumerick weighs in on the importance of meeting with your crop insurance specialist annually. “Since Whole Farm Revenue Protection became available in 2015, we have often times been able to provide a different form of

revenue protection that may be more beneficial than current individual crop policies,” Cory says. “With the multitude of crop insurance policy options available, and growers’ ever-changing historical averages, it is important to dig into each grower’s risk management needs yearly, in order to tailor a specialized crop insurance program for that producer. “The options for specialty crop producers coverage will only be increasing in the coming years,” he adds. “Part of the 2018 Farm Bill is to provide better options for specialty crop and local farming/direct market operations.” Farming is a family business, and all ten of John’s children have pitched in to help as needed over the years. Gallagher Farms covers some of the prettiest acreage in the nation, and as much as John appreciates the beauty, the real bonus is having his children and grandchildren close to home. A family farm is heritage worth preserving; for Gallagher, growing high-quality fruit and

➡ Above: John (center) with sons and farming partners Jordan and Christian.

defending Michigan farms against unfair trade

advantages is both his responsibility to the

farming community, and his legacy to those

who love his farm as much as he does. ■