Peterson Urges Farmers Affected by Weather to Contact Agents for Delayed Harvest

Congressman Collin Peterson is encouraging farmers in Minnesota who have been unable to harvest due to excessive rain and snowfall to contact their crop insurance agents and county Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices to discuss their options for relief this fall.

“Farming has been a struggle throughout this crop year with wet weather making harvest every bit as difficult as planting was. I know producers just want to be able to get as much of their crop out of the fields as possible and I urge them to stay in contact with their crop insurance agent as their situation changes. USDA has a number of resources available and I urge farmers to take the time to review them.”

Producers facing weather related challenges this harvest season should review the following information from USDA.

Farmers that have been prevented from harvesting by rain or snow should contact their crop insurance agents before the end of the insurance period to file a Notice of Loss and request more time to harvest.

Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) may allow additional time to harvest when the following conditions are met:

• The producer gives timely notice of loss to his or her crop insurance agent.

• The AIP determines and documents that the delay in harvest was due to an insured cause of loss.

• The producer demonstrates that harvest was not possible due to insured causes, such as wet conditions preventing access to the field with equipment or that harvesting under such conditions would damage equipment.

• The delay in harvest was not because the producer did not have sufficient equipment or manpower to harvest the crop by the end of the insurance period.

When an AIP authorizes additional time to harvest:

• The end of the insurance period is not extended. Rather, the producer is granted additional time to attempt to harvest the crop to settle any loss based on harvested production.

• Any additional damage to the insured crop during the extension period is covered provided it is due to an insurable cause of loss like excessive moisture.

• The producer’s crop insurance policy will cover loss of quality (as specified in the crop provisions), reduced yields, and revenue losses if revenue coverage was chosen.

• The cost of drying the harvested crop is not covered.

More information on requesting assistance due to delayed harvest is available on RMA’s website.

WHIP+

Producers should also be aware of disaster relief assistance offered through the Farm Service Agency’s WHIP+ program that provides disaster payments to offset eligible crop or prevented planting losses.

• Eligibility is limited to crop, tree, bush, vine, or prevented planting losses that resulted from floods, snowstorms, excessive rain or moisture, high winds, mudslides and other natural disasters that occurred in the 2018 and 2019 calendar years.

· A new On-Farm Storage Loss Program will assist with losses of harvested commodities, including hay, stored in on-farm structures in 2018 and 2019.

· Producers with prevent planting claims due to flooding or excess moisture in the 2019 calendar year will receive a “bonus” payment totaling 10% of their indemnity, and an additional 5% for harvest price option coverage.

Payments Under WHIP+

• Payments are targeted for production losses. However, if quality was taken into consideration under either insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) policy where production was adjusted, the adjusted production will be used when calculating assistance.

• Producers who suffered crop losses due to 2018 disasters will receive 100 percent of their calculated WHIP+ payment once the application is approved. Producers who suffer crop losses due to 2019 disasters receive an initial 50 percent of their calculated WHIP+ payment once the application is approved and will receive up to the remaining 50 percent after January 1, 2020, if sufficient funding remains.

• Producers will be limited to $125,000 under WHIP+ for the 2018, 2019, and 2020 crop years combined if their average adjusted gross farm income is less than 75 percent of their average adjusted gross income (AGI) for 2015, 2016, and 2017. If at least 75 percent of the producer’s average AGI is derived from farming, ranching, or forestry related activities, the producer is eligible to receive up to $250,000 per crop year in WHIP+ payments, with a total combined limitation for payments for the 2018, 2019, and 2020 crop years of $500,000.

If producers have unresolved concerns with USDA programs after contacted their insurance agent or their local FSA office, they should contact Congressman Peterson’s Office at 202-225-2165.