Spring crop insurance deadline nears; No federal disaster aid without crop insurance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 2009

March 16 is the deadline for farmers across the country to buy crop insurance on many spring planted crops. It is especially important this year because eligibility for federal crop disaster aid is now dependent upon having crop insurance.

Any producer who wants to be eligible for the new federal Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE) in 2009 must buy crop insurance coverage on their insurable crops. SURE is the provision of the 2008 Farm Bill designed to replace ad hoc disaster assistance programs.

March 16 is also the deadline for making any changes to existing crop insurance policies.

Some of the crops that share the March 16 deadline are: corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, forage seeding, and many varieties of fresh and processed vegetables.

Which crops are insurable and what kinds of policies are available vary from state to state and county to county. To make sure you are eligible for SURE contact a crop insurance agent well before the March 16 deadline.

Data presented in this article was provided by the USDA’s Risk Management Agency

National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) is a nonprofit trade association representing all of the private insurance companies who sell and service Federal crop insurance policies.