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Fall Crop Insurance Required for Disaster Eligibility in 2009

USDA’s Risk Management Agency reminds producers they must have crop insurance coverage on all insurable fall planted crops before the sales closing deadline of September 30, 2008, in order to be eligible for disaster assistance on 2009 summer crops.

Producers should note this deadline is different from the September 16 deadline to pay a “buy-in” waiver fee to make 2008 crops eligible for disaster relief.

The new Farm Bill requires that farmers have crop insurance on all acres of any insurable crop, or Noninsured Assistance Program (NAP) coverage on all acres of uninsurable crops, in order to be eligible for the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE). Producers who fail to sign up for crop insurance on their fall planted crops will not be protected under SURE for their corn and soybeans next summer, even if they buy crop insurance for those crops.

The more crop insurance coverage a producer has, the more his/her SURE guarantee will be. Authorized in the Farm Bill, SURE is effective for the 2008 crop year and runs through the 2011 crop year. SURE will be based on whole farm revenue and will be triggered by a USDA Secretarial disaster declaration for a county; contiguous counties are automatically eligible.  SURE also will be available to any farm where, during the calendar year, the total loss of production on the farm, because of weather, is greater than 50 percent of the normal production on the farm.  There is a maximum payment amount of $100,000; most farmers will have a $200,000 payment limit because a spouse also qualifies for a $100,000 payment limit.

Producers seeking more information are advised to contact a crop insurance agent or their local Farm Service Agency.  Information also is available at website http://www.rma.usda.gov/