Crop Insurance Changes

Crop insurance now required for disaster eligibility

Any producer who wants to be eligible for disaster assistance must have crop insurance coverage on all insurable crops before the sales closing deadline (March 15 for potatoes for instance.)

The new Farm Bill requires crop insurance, on all acres of any insurable crop, or Noninsured Assistance Program (NAP) coverage on all acres of uninsurable crops, in order to be eligible for the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE).

For more information, click here (PDF)

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2008 Farm Bill hikes
CAT administrative fee

On May 22, 2008, the 2008 Farm Bill was enacted. Section 12006 of the 2008 Farm Bill requires that each producer pay an administrative fee for catastrophic risk protection (CAT) in the amount of $300 per crop per county. The provisions are very specific and mandate certain terms that do not allow FCIC any discretion in the provisions or their implementation. Currently, the administrative fee for catastrophic risk protection is $100 per crop per county.

For more information, click here (PDF)

For more information, click here (MSWord)

Maine dairy insurance policy now available

Any producer who owns dairy cattle in Maine is now eligible for Livestock Gross Margin for Dairy Cattle Insurance Policy coverage.

For more information click here (PDF)

Dairy Cattle Insurance Policy
PowerPoint Presentations courtesy of Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

Crop Insurance History in Maine

For decades, the Federal Government has made ad hoc disaster and deficiency payments to growers who experience a significant crop or revenue loss due to weather or other conditions beyond their control.  The Risk Management Agency, a division of the United States Department of Agriculture, has recently begun funding educational programs to teach growers about the new way the government will be dealing with crop losses.  Growers and producers will no longer receive government aid during years of crop disasters or price support payments during low price years.  Instead, growers and producers will be responsible for managing their risks associated with farming. Crop Insurance  will provide partial replacement for the Federal safety net.

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension has received a grant for Maine from the Risk Management Agency to educate Maine producers about crop insurance.  For several years, extension educators have been conducting seminars, attending industry meetings and trades shows, and writing articles for commodity specific newsletters and other trade specific publications.  Their goal is not to sell insurance to growers and producers, but to increase awareness of the changes occurring at the USDA and educate growers of the potential benefits of crop insurance to their operations.

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