Crop Insurance

Maryland farmers who sign up for crop insurance by March 15 will benefit from an additional cost-share incentive announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency. The boost also applies to farmers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and 12 other states, according to National Crop Insurance Services. The federal funds will be used to pay 15 percent of the producers' net premium at the 70 percent to 85 percent coverage levels, the Maryland Department of Agriculture said.

Farmers whose crops were damaged by Hurricane Ivan and its remnants face deadlines to sign up for federally subsidized crop insurance, a nonprofit trade association said. Sept. 30 is the deadline to sign up for crop insurance on most fall-planted crops such as winter wheat, barley, and oats, National Crop Insurance Services said in a press release. It said Sept. 30 is also the deadline for making any changes to existing policies. "Insured farmers who experience damage will need to make sure a crop adjuster examines the damage before they continue harvesting," said Jan Eliassen, an association official.

The Risk Management Agency said it is aware of news reports which suggest crop insurance adjusters have been given the authority to forgo inspecting damaged crops, and will not be conducting on farm inspections of crop losses. "These reports are incorrect and resulted from a misinterpretation of a recent clarification of current loss adjustment procedures issued by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation," RMA said in a news release. In order for producers to protect the integrity of their claims and to remain eligible for a potential loss payment, RMA said, it wants to remind producers that: Producers with crop damage due to drought or other causes should contact their crop insurance agent within 72 hours of the discovery of the crop damage.

Maryland and federal agencies are urging farmers with crop insurance to talk to their crop insurance agent to fully understand their responsibilities if Asian soybean rust affects the state. Farmers need to meet the "challenges presented by this disease," said Ross J. Davidson Jr., administrator of USDA's Risk Management Agency. "While the disease is an insured peril under the federal crop insurance program, damage due to the insufficient or improper application of available disease control measures is not. " Soybean rust is a fungal disease causing yield losses of up to 80 percent in areas of southern Africa and South America when an infected crop is left untreated, the Maryland Department of Agriculture said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated Washington and Frederick counties as contiguous counties to primary disaster areas in Pennsylvania, a local official said. As a result, farmers in Washington and Frederick counties are now eligible to apply for USDA assistance if their operations were hurt by the severe storms, mudslides and flooding that struck some areas on June 23, said Colleen Cashell, executive director of the Washington County office of the Farm Service Agency.

HARRISBURG, Pa. - More than 300 Franklin County farmers already approved for about $2 million in federal crop disaster assistance can expect about $1.5 million more in state cash grants, according to a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture official. "We've made some advance payments of about 35 percent," Deputy Secretary for Marketing, Promotion and Program Services Russell Redding said Tuesday. He said payments to county farmers will be up to 75 percent of the cash grants already approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Crop Disaster Assistance Program.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - West Virginia is among six states included in an expanded federal livestock program, allowing 11,000 cattle producers in the Mountain State to protect themselves against a drop in prices for a specific feeding or grazing period, Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass said. Feeder cattle, fed cattle and swine are included in the program, and policies should be available this month, Douglass said. "These programs will help West Virginia farmers better control their bottom lines from year to year," he said.

ANNAPOLIS - Yet another disaster declaration has been issued involving Maryland, but this one could help area farmers whose crops didn't meet the time periods of other aid programs. The USDA announced last week it has designated Washington, Frederick, Allegany and Carroll counties as natural disaster areas because they are contiguous to counties in Pennsylvania designated as primary natural disaster areas because of losses caused by drought that occurred from April 1, 2007, and continuing.

COLUMBIA, Md. - The executive director of USDA's Farm Service Agency in Maryland said Washington County and two others in the state are eligible for emergency loans because of drought-related problems nearby last year. State Director Elizabeth Anderson said that counties in West Virginia were designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by drought that began occurring a year ago. As a result, Anderson said, farms in the adjacent counties of Washington, Allegany and Garrett also sustained crop production losses.

Colleen Cashell, executive director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Washington County, reminds eligible producers that the sign-up period for the 2009 crop year Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments program has opened and runs through July 29. It is one of five disaster programs included in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill) that provides assistance to farmers and ranchers who have suffered losses in revenue due to natural disasters. A farm is eligible for the program when either: At least a 10 percent production loss on a crop of economic significance A policy or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP)