With the excessive rain we’ve seen over the last 6 weeks, getting soybeans out of the field has been a challenge. NCDA reports that only 65% of the soybeans have been harvested as of last Monday. This means many growers will have trouble getting all their beans out of the field by the December 10 “End of Insurance Period” date.
There are actions you can take that may help you for insurance purposes, but you must take those actions before December 10.
Here is what you need to know from RMA:
The Risk Management Agency’s procedures (Loss Adjustment Manual Standards Handbook, FCIC 25010) allow your crop insurance company to authorize policyholders, on a case-by-case basis, more time to attempt to harvest so claims can be settled based on harvested production.
Your approved insurance provider may allow additional time to harvest when the following conditions are met:
- You give timely notice of loss to your crop insurance agent;
- Your approved insurance provider determines and documents that the delay in harvest was due to an insured cause of loss;
- You demonstrate to your approved insurance provider that harvest was not possible due to insured causes; and
- The delay in harvest was not because you did not have sufficient equipment or manpower to harvest the crop by the end of the insurance period.
When your approved insurance provider authorizes additional time to harvest, the end of the insurance period is not extended. Rather, you are granted additional time to attempt to harvest the crop in order to settle any loss based on harvested production. Any additional damage to your crop (by an insured cause of loss) during the extension period is covered. Any avoidable production loss will be charged as an appraisal against the guarantee in your policy.
Please be aware that if there is significant snow cover, if the crop is under water, or if extreme wet conditions exist, your approved insurance provider should not (and is not required to) perform final inspections when conditions make it impossible to obtain accurate appraisals.
In order to take advantage of this policy, you must contact your insurance agent now as they must have a record of this request before the December 10 deadline. Here’s what you need to do:
- Contact your crop insurance agent and report a loss.
- Tell your agent that your harvest is delayed because of bad weather.
- Continue your normal and customary harvesting practices, if possible.
- Document conditions for your acreage and the actions you take so you can receive an accurate claim payment, if one is due.
- You may request an extension of time to harvest if you are unable to harvest by the calendar date for the end of the insurance period. You must harvest your crop during the extension period if a window of opportunity arises. If you do not, the approved insurance provider will appraise the acreage at that time and finalize the claim based on that appraisal. Damage occurring after the window of opportunity to harvest is uninsurable.
If you have questions you can contact, our office, your insurance agent, or reference this handout from RMA (https://www.rma.usda.gov/en/Fact-Sheets/National-Fact-Sheets/Delayed-Harvest—Wet-Conditions).
And hopefully this week will bring a little dry weather and we will be able to some soybeans out of the field!
