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Farm disaster insurance applications due Sept. 16
Published 6:00am Saturday, August 2, 2008If agricultural producers in Otter Tail County want to be eligible for any potential disaster program, they need to make sure they have all crops covered by either a crop insurance policy or NAP through the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) office.
The buy-in fee is due no later than Sept. 16, 2008, 90 days after the date of enactment, as required by the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008. Those who miss this opportunity will not be eligible for disaster assistance.
“If one crop is missed, farmers would not be eligible for disaster assistance if they would have a qualifying loss,” said County Executive Director Leon Johnson, FSA West Otter Tail County. “For the 2008 crop year, producers would need to apply for the waiver at the FSA office to be eligible.”
According to Johnson, it’s up to each individual if it’s worth paying the waiver fees to maintain eligibility for disaster assistance.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will allow producers who would otherwise be ineligible for the new disaster assistance programs to become eligible by paying a fee as required by the new legislation.
The 2008 Act requires producers who wish to participate in the new disaster programs to have crop insurance or non-insured crop disaster assistance (NAP) coverage for the land for which assistance is being requested, and for all farms in all counties in which they have an interest. “Since the 2008 Act was enacted after the application periods had closed for those programs, producers who did not have such coverage could not comply with this requirement in order to be eligible for the new disaster programs,” Johnson said.
However, the 2008 Act authorizes a waiver that allows producers to pay a fee, called a “buy-in” fee, to be eligible for this new disaster assistance. Every producer whose crops, including grazing lands, are not fully covered by crop insurance or NAP may take advantage of this one-time opportunity.
“Producers are also reminded that the payment of the applicable buy-in fee does not afford the producer crop insurance or NAP coverage,” Johnson said. “It only affords eligibility for the 2008 disaster programs.”
The crop insurance and NAP coverage requirements will be waived in 2008 for producers who did not obtain crop insurance or NAP coverage by the applicable sales closing date. That’s the case if the producer files an application for waiver and pays a buy-in fee in an amount equal to the 2008 applicable NAP coverage.
This also applies for a catastrophic risk protection plan fee for the crop or grazing lands.
Producers who meet the definition of Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource or Beginning Farmer or Rancher do not have to meet the Risk Management Purchase Requirement. Therefore, they are not required to pay the buy-in fee.
The buy-in fee for 2008 eligibility for either the catastrophic risk protection insurance (CAT) or NAP is $100 per crop, but not more than $300 per producer per administrative county — or $900 total per producer for all counties less any previously paid fees for CAT and/or NAP.
Producers can contact their local administrative FSA County Office to file the application for waiver and pay the applicable fees.
Payment of the applicable fees will allow the producer to be eligible for benefits for losses under Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) Program, Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), Tree Assistance Program (TAP), and Emergency Assistance Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP).
For more information, contact the FSA West Otter Tail County Office at 218-739-4694.
