Farmers faced with important crop insurance decisions

Farmers need to make some important decisions in these last few weeks leading up to the March 15 crop insurance deadline.

The crops impacted by this deadline include corn, soybeans, grain sorghum, green peas, barley, dry beans, forage seeding, oats, popcorn, cabbage, mint, sweet corn, sugar beets, tomatoes, potatoes, processing beans and processing pumpkins.

For most farmers, crop insurance affects those who want to:

• Purchase crop insurance for their spring-planted crops
• Make a change to the crops that they have insured or to the level of their crops’ protection
• Change insurance providers
• Cancel a policy
  

According to an article in Ohio’s Country Journal, volatility is expected in the prices for corn, soybeans and their inputs and the weather is always an unknown. These risks, at the current high price levels, are tremendous.

“Prices are higher this year, the volatility in the markets is greater than ever and input prices are high, so it is really important to keep crop insurance at high levels, said Keith Summers, agent and broker at Leist Mercantile in Circleville. “With that, the cost of crop insurance is going to be higher as well. We’re seeing rates anywhere from 25 percent to 30 percent over last year.”

Along with the higher prices, the Risk Management Agency for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering farmers a new crop insurance option for the 2011 crop year.

This new option for crop insurance is “WeatherBill,” which offers customized protection from the uncertainties of the weather, including:

• Drought throughout the growing season
• Excessive rainfall during key planning dates
• Cold weather throughout the season
• Heat stress during pollination
• Killing freeze before the harvest
• Rains that can delay harvest
  

WeatherBill coverage does not depend on insurance adjusters, but on the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) weather data for a nationwide grid of 12-mile by 12-mile squares throughout the country. The insurance can be purchased by the acre within these grids.

This new crop insurance option, along with the higher prices, increases the need for farmers to meet with their crop insurance agent.

“There are a lot of dollars on the table this year and it is important for farmers to make sure they have the right coverage for their farm. Using crop insurance is a really good way to lock in some revenue,” said Summers.

For more information and a list of local crop insurance agents, farmers can visit www.rma.usda.gov/tools/agent.html.

Do you use crop insurance? Do you know a farmer who doesn’t use it? What do you think about the new insurance option, WeatherBill, which is available to farmers?

Photo obtained from: newinsured.com

Survey reveals U.S. farming data

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently announced that they are contacting farmers and ranchers across the U.S. to conduct their annual Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS).

According to the USDA, ARMS data provides a direct linkage between commodity-production practices (including conservation) and the financial status of the farm and its operator's household. The data collected also provides insights about several aspects of the agricultural sector, including its contribution to the national economy, the organization and performance of farms, the income and well-being of farm households and the economics of production practices used among commodity enterprises.

"ARMS asks a small, but representative, sample of farmers about their operations to understand the current financial state of U.S. agriculture," said King Whetstone, director of the NASS New York field office. "Participation in ARMS is important because government and agricultural leaders use the information to make sound decisions that impact the future of farmers, their families, their businesses and their communities."

The survey provides farmers and ranchers with an opportunity to provide accurate, real-world data that will help shape the policies, programs and issues that affect them. Their responses are used to examine the effects of economic or policy events on farms and farm households.

The 2009-2010 ARMS results, released Aug. 3, 2010, revealed that U.S. farm production expenditures decreased by nearly $20 billion in 2009 – the first major decline in nearly a quarter century. It indicated that falling petroleum prices were a major factor behind the decline, leading to decreases in the costs of fuels, fertilizer and agricultural chemicals. It also indicated that overall farm production expenditures decreased in all major categories, including:

• Feed costs (decreased 4 percent, to $20,533 per farm)
• Farm services (decreased 4.2 percent to $16,609 per farm)
  

To obtain the most accurate data, 35,000 farmers and ranchers throughout the country are being asked to provide data for this year’s survey about their operating expenditures, production costs and household characteristics. NASS began contacting farmers in January and will continue its outreach until the end of April.

"Farm organizations, the USDA, other government agencies, members of Congress and state and local officials use the collective information from ARMS to answer questions and make important decisions concerning the economic viability of American agriculture, the rural economy and other emerging issues," stated Whetstone.

The data collected in ARMS will be published in the annual Farm Production Expenditures report Aug. 2, 2011, and will be available at www.nass.usda.gov.

For more information about the Agricultural Resource Management Survey, visit www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/ARMS/.

What do you think of the Agricultural Resource Management Survey? Do you think it is gathering the right type of information? What type of information would you like to see it collect? What do you think it would report about your farming region?

Photo obtained from: quickpaidsurveys.com