08/14/08 Expanding Mint

Expanding Mint. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. I have always been a big fan of spearmint gum and have probably kept several companies in business over the years. What I was not aware of was that spearmint oil used to flavor the gum and candies was probably grown right in my own back yard. Well not literally but the northwest is known for growing the bulk of the spearmint and peppermint in the world. That means a lot of mint is grown in the region. USDA's Risk Management Agency has recently expanded the availability of crop insurance in the region according to spokesperson Jo Lynne Seufer. SEUFER: We're excited to share with everyone that with the amount of participation for the first year of mint crop insurance program as a permanent program, we have additionally expanded into two more counties in the Pacific Northwest that includes Baker County Oregon and Walla Walla County Washington for the 2009 crop year. Seufer says the closing date is right around the corner. SEUFER: With that expansion we also want to remind producers that the sales closing date for that crop year of 2009 is fast coming upon us and it's September 30th if they want to have a winter coverage option and if they just want basic coverage, well then they have until March 16, 2009. Mint is a perennial that is cut and dried like alfalfa and many producers are finding it has a place in their operations. SEUFER: It's becoming a good diversification crop but also once we expanded it into that permanent program for the 2008 crop year these other counties we expanded, these two additional ones, producers learned of it and said hey we want that risk management tool as well and we've been expanding our acreage in these counties so we went and got approval and now it's available for these producers. Seufer also says that it's good when producers approach RMA with ideas. SEUFER: What's great is you know nothing is better than word of mouth if a program is good or not and some of these have been through farmers telling and sharing with other farmers that this product has been helping them manage their risk and peril adequately so that's really a request from producers so you can't beat that when you are administering a farm program. Producers should contact a local crop insurance agent to learn additional program details. If there is no coverage in your county for a specific crop under the traditional MPCI program, please ask your agent whether you would be eligible for coverage under a written agreement. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.