08/10/06 Covering Your Crop

Covering your crop. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. Deadlines are quickly approaching for those Ag producers wishing to purchase Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) for the 2007 crop year. Jo Lynne Seufer, Risk Management Specialist explains how the program works. SEUFER: USDA Risk Management Agency oversees the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation programs where the private crop insurance agent is the deliverer of the program but we re-insure those risk management programs. And for the 2007 crop year we're looking at the fall sales closing dates particularly for canola rapeseeds which is August 31 for fall planted types. Over the past couple of years, the number of producers taking advantage of the USDA's Crop Insurance has risen. SEUFER: Particularly here in the Pacific Northwest of Idaho, Oregon and Washington small grain crop insurance numbers continue to grow each year. We have over 3 million acres insured and almost 5 million dollars in liability under the multi-peril crop insurance program for crop year 2006. Yes it is definitely gaining ground; a lot more interest because producers are incorporating insurance tools as part of their annual business plan. Recently drought conditions and hail damage have prompted many questions about how to collect on crop insurance. SEUFER: Producers with damage or loss on their insured acreage should notify their crop insurance company within 72 hours of initial discovery of damage. Notice must also be provided within 3 days (72 hours) prior to the date harvest should have started if the crop will not be harvested and at least 15 days before any production from any unit will be sold by direct marketing. The insurance loss adjuster will conduct an appraisal that will be used to determine a producer's production to count for production sold by direct marketing. In all cases, if an insured intends to claim an indemnity on any insured unit, they must notify the insurance company at least 15 days prior to the beginning of harvest, or immediately if damage is discovered during harvest. A producer must not sell or dispose of the damaged crop until after the insurance company provides written consent to do so. For more information and exact closing dates for specific crops, contact USDA's Risk Management Agency 509-353-2147. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.