FAQ – Crop

Sales Closing Dates for crop insurance vary from state to state and crop to crop, so its best to ask an agent who can look at your operation’s needs. For Spring Planted/Fall Harvest Crops such as corn and soybeans, March 15 is the most common deadline. For Fall Plant/Spring harvest crops like Winter Wheat, September 30 is a date to watch.

But again, it’s best to discus your operation with an experienced crop insurance agent in case you are subject to exceptions.

Like most things crop insurance, it depends. It depends on the crop, what state you’re planting in, and the type of plan you have. Premiums for most common spring crops are due in mid-August; winter wheat on July 30.

Your best bet to avoid penalties, late fees, or cancellation of coverage is to check your policy documents and talk to your agent to confirm the dates that apply to you.

Notice of Loss for a crop insurance claim should be submitted within 72 hours of initial discovery of  damage, and no later than 15 days after the END of  the Insurance Period for that specific crop. 

End of Insurance Period will be specific to your policy, depending on the county you are in and the crops you are growing. Your crop insurance agent can help you find those dates and walk you through the submission process!

When the yield Production Guarantee has been reached for an insured crop and price decline is the ONLY cause of loss, a Revenue Loss Only claim can be submitted. Notice of Loss must be submitted within 45 days of that crop’s Harvest Price announcement.

Multi-Peril Crop Insurance, or MPCI, covers loss of crop yields from many types of natural dangers like disease, excessive rainfall, insect damage, freeze, and drought. Depending on the policy, it can also provide protection against losses due to changes in market prices.

The particulars of any given policy can vary as much as the needs or resources of any two farms can vary, so it’s best to consult with an agent who specializes in crop insurance – like the agents on Plummer Insurance’s Crop Team – to get the coverage your operation needs.

Generally speaking, crop insurance policies do have deductibles, which vary among crops and specific policies. 25 percent of the crop or crop value is the average deductible but the range of possible deductibles and how they affect premiums is extremely large.

Like most aspects of crop insurance, it’s best to consult a crop insurance agent to better understand your current policy, or to make any decisions about policies in the future.

Livestock Risk Protection is an insurance policy that protects farmers against catastrophic declines in market prices for feeder cattle, fed cattle, lamb, and swine. An LRP policy typically pays producers if a regional or national price index falls below a level outlined in the policy, in some ways working similarly to an options hedge. It doesn’t protect against production risks or losses, but is becoming an increasingly popular tool in volatile markets. Ask a Crop Insurance Expert for more information.

PRF stands for pasture, rangeland, or forage acres used to feed livestock. The insured must have financial interest in the livestock being fed on the land in order to qualify for coverage. This is a single-peril insurance product that only insures against low rainfall, according to the NOAA Precipitation index.

Producers can receive a payment under this policy only when the precipitation falls below what’s considered the historical normal for their area. Our Agents can tell you if it’s right for you!

A beginning farmer or rancher is an individual who has neither actively operated nor managed a farm or ranch anywhere for up to 5 crop years. This designation was created by the USDA to help new farmers and ranchers find their footing as they get started with their operation.

Precision farming is the application of modern technology to observe, measure, and respond to field conditions on a more detailed level than is possible using traditional methods. Information gathered with this technology can be used to more precisely determine the ideal sowing density for a field, estimate the amount of fertilizer, water, and pesticide needs within fields, and more accurately predict crop yields.

Prevented planting is the inability to plant an insured crop by that year’s final planting date (ask your agent when yours is!) due to causes like floods, hurricanes, or heavy rains. A prevented planting insurance policy generally will compensate the farmer for a percentage of what their insurance guarantee would be on a normally planted crop.

Whole Farm Revenue Protection insurance provides protection for all commodities, including both crops and livestock, on a farm under a single policy. It’s designed as a safety net for diverse farms that grow a range of commodities to protect them all from losses due to unavoidable natural causes like storms.

While this policy is a good fit for some operations, most farms benefit from a policy tailored to their operation by an experienced Agent – like the agents on Plummer’s Crop Insurance Team. Contact them today to get your policy seeded.

Production Hail is an endorsement, or add-on policy that covers the gaps in Multi-Peril Crop Insurance coverage. It takes into account the total harvested production when calculating a loss due to hail damage, not just the percent of damage at the time of the loss due to hail.

Premiums for this policy vary according to regional hail risk. If it hails a lot in your area, this policy may be too expensive to employ; but a Crop Insurance Expert

Basic units combine all of your owned and rented acres in the same county together, but with each crop insured separate, while enterprise units combine all acres of the same crop in the county together, so, for example, all of your corn acres are insured separately from your soybean acres. Enterprise units can come with less expensive premiums, but they also can make individual section losses less likely to collect on claims.

Deciding which to use can have a huge impact on the effectiveness of your policy, and an experienced agent can help you make the best decision for your operation.

Once a crop is harvested, it is no longer protected by crop insurance. Instead, a separate farm insurance policy can help to cover your crops once they’ve been harvested, along with other property on your farm. This may be part of your farm blanket policy, or a separate Stored Grain endorsement.

Luckily, Plummer Insurance has agents that are experts in both crop insurance, and farm property insurance, so they can tailor a policy to just about any operation. Get your Quote started today!

Drought is typically included in Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MCPI) policies. However, as with all insurance products, coverage amounts can vary and exceptions can occur.

If drought coverage is important to your operation, be sure your crop insurance agent knows that so you end up with the right policy.