Update 6/25/2019
RMA issued some additional FAQs yesterday, which can be found by going to the link below and the attached PDF.
Also included is a link to an interview done by Richard Flournoy (RMA Product Development), which gives a little more detail into RMA’s current position regarding NRCS.
At this point, we are comfortable with documentation from either NRCS or an Ag Expert regarding cover crop acceptability. If you’re in a State where NRCS has gone on record to say corn can be used as a cover crop, and provided seeding rates/management practices, the NRCS information can be acceptable. If NRCS has not issued any guidance for the State, the insured will need to provide information from an Ag Expert, as defined by the policy. The insured will need to provide this documentation to the adjuster to include in the claim file, and it should include recommended planting dates, seeding rates and row width.
Note (from the General Standards Handbook): Persons who have a personal or financial interest in the insured or the crop will not qualify as an agricultural expert.
RMA FAQs:
https://www.rma.usda.gov/News-Room/Frequently-Asked-Questions/Prevented-Planting-Flooding
Richard Flournoy Interview:
https://www.dairyherd.com/article/usda-confirms-silage-corn-can-be-planted-prevent-plant-acres
Also, please refer to these additional informational pages regarding Cover Crops here:
https://www.rma.usda.gov/Topics/Cover-Crops
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/
As a reminder, insured’s are required to report all acres of an insured crop (insurable and uninsurable). If the insured has corn and/or soybeans on their policy and plant these as approved cover crops, the cover crop acres must be reported as “uninsurable due to cover crop”. If you have any questions on how to report or key cover crop acres, please contact your underwriter
Update 6/10/2019
As we inch closer to the Final Plant Date for Corn, we wanted to send out a quick message in regards to Prevent Plant. We know many of you are fielding questions every day about how Prevent Plant works and what options are out there. With Prevent Plant being a real option for some areas that have never had to deal with it before we wanted to send some answers to many of the questions we’ve been getting so that everyone is on the same page.
First, an insured has all the days within the Late Plant Period to submit a Prevent plant claim. So for many of us the Final Plant Date is 6/5 and the End of the Late Plant Period is 6/25. So an insured can, if they intend to try to plant, wait through this timeframe to declare Prevent Plant. This is why plant dates on your Acreage Reports are important!
Also, some quick math: if the insured elects RP 85%, the Prevent Plant guarantee is 55% OF the 85%.
Example: Aph of 200 bushels per acre at $4.00 (Base Price) at RP 85% RP Yield G’tee = 170 * $4= $680/acre Prevent Plant G’tee = $680 * 55% = $374/acre ~no penalty on Corn aph with electing Prevent Plant (as long as another crop is not planted)
IF the farmer elects to plant soybeans behind Prevent Plant Corn they first must wait until the End of the Late Plant Period (6/25) then the Prevent Plant Corn G’tee is reduced to 35% OF the 55% Using the same Example as above: $374 * 35% = $130.90/acre
So to run your own scenarios it’s
RP Coverage(85%) * 55% * 35%
~The soybeans are then covered under their own policy (keep in mind this is already after the Late Plant Period for soybeans so they’ve already got a reduction in guarantee)
~Also, there is a penalty on the aph for those respective units.
Also please remember that under individual policies, each day after The Final Plant date the insured loses 1% of their guarantee a day per day on ground planted up to the End of the Late Plant Period
Example- Corn Final Plant Date 6/5, if the farmer purchased an 85% policy but is able to plant corn on 6/10 the coverage for the ground planted on 6/10 would be reduced 5% and then would still be billed at the full premium rate.
Some additional reminders:
~Prevent Plant Only uses the RP/YP base price (will NOT adjust to a higher Harvest Price)
~Prevent Plant IS available under CAT Coverage
~To qualify for Multi County Enterprise Units (MCEU) both counties must have planted acres to qualify
County based plans (ARP, AYP, And Margin Protection)
~County Based Policies do not have Prevent Plant Coverage (unless purchased under a Hail policy)
~There is no reduction in coverage under County policies
~There isn’t really a Late Plant Period, but the Final Plant Date would essentially be the same as the respective counties End of Late Plant Period
