Find answers to your questions concerning crop insurance and prevented planting due to rain, courtesy of two UGA Extension economists.
Much of the Southeast experienced crop-disrupting rain in May and early June to the point where prevented planted and insurance come in to play. Farmers in Georgia and Alabama are facing such issues, and Florida growers could easily be next. Two University of Georgia Extension economists put together a whitepaper about crop insurance and prevented planting to help farmers make decisions. See the details shared in a SoutheastFarmpress article, below.
Q & A On Crop Insurance and Prevented Planting
The whitepaper by UGA Extension economists Adam Rabinowitz and Yangxuan Liu is titled ‘What Farmers Need to Know about Crop Insurance and Prevented Planting:’
Q: “Is excess rainfall covered under prevented planting provisions?”
A: “Yes, “excess precipitation that occurs during the insurance period and prevents other producers from planting acreage with similar characteristics” is covered under the prevented planting provision. This means that other farmers in the area must also be impacted by these conditions; however, geographic variation may create eligibility for an individual farmer based on their own circumstances. Therefore, appropriate documentation and records, as well as timely Notice of Loss, are very important for prevented planting claims due to excess rainfall.”
Q: “Will the final planting date be extended?”
A: “Final planting dates cannot be extended because they are part of the terms and conditions of the insurance policy. Extending that date would also create issues with filing a prevented planting claim. Furthermore, there is substantial research available through UGA Extension that documents the impacts of late plantings on crop yield, thus it is not generally advisable to plant a late crop.”
Q: “What coverage is provided for prevented planting?”
A: “The prevented planting payment is designed to compensate for pre-planting costs incurred during the preparation for planting the crop. This includes costs associated with items such as machinery, land rent, fertilizer, pesticide, labor, repairs, and field preparation activities. The coverage is calculated as a percent of the insurance guarantee. The prevented planting coverage factor varies by crop and has recently been reviewed by RMA. The coverage factor for peanuts increased in 2018 to 55%. The coverage factor for cotton was reviewed in 2017 and was maintained at 50%. The eligible acres that were prevented from planting must be a minimum of 20 acres or 20 percent of their insurable crop acreage.”
Q: “What acreage is eligible for prevented planting?”
A: “The number of acres eligible for prevented planting coverage is limited based on the previous crop planting history of the insured entity. This is not specific by crop but for all cropland in the farming operation. For example, the number of acres eligible for prevented planting for cotton is not limited to cotton planting history but would include all eligible crops planted, such as cotton, peanuts, and corn if these are the three eligible crops but not tomatoes since that is not an eligible crop. There are numerous provisions for changes in eligible acres, so farmers should check with their crop insurance agent for determining eligible acres according to their particular circumstances.”
Q: “What to do in the event of a loss?”
A: “Farmers must notify their crop insurance agent within 72 hours of the initial discovery of the loss. In the case of prevented planting, this would be within 72 hours after the final planting date if there is no intention of planting during the late planting period. If there is an intent to plant during the late planting period and it is later discovered that no planting will occur, then farmers should contact their crop insurance agent at that time.”
Griffin Fertilizer is committed to helping both growers and ranchers make sound agronomic and economic decisions in order to maximize the health of their grove and pasture. As a full-service custom dry & liquid fertilizer blender and crop protection product distributor, we will continue our mission to further advance Florida agriculture. For questions or concerns about your farm or pasture, contact us and one of our team will be in touch.