Too wet. Too dry. Too wet. Plus — just for fun — let’s throw a spring derecho in there as well. If someone is looking for a low-stress career, they might want to pass on being a farmer!
I know many of you reading this experienced damage from the May 12 storm. The derecho, combined with ongoing supply chain shortages, likely created a lot of challenges for those affected, so please ask for help if you are feeling the pressure of it all.
Currently, prices are at or near all-time highs. These high prices, in addition to our current stormy weather pattern, could increase the need for the additional coverage to help you protect the significant revenue that’s growing in the fields.
There is a wide variety of hail insurance and wind insurance product options to ensure revenue in the case that we have a widespread event later in the year. In many cases, an additional $15–20 per acre can purchase decent hail and/or wind coverage to protect this revenue — but most of these products have a two-hour binding timeframe, so don’t wait until the storm is overhead to make the decision!
Meanwhile, the USDA has announced the Emergency Relief Program, which will apply to counties that experienced drought in 2020 and 2021 and provide additional payments to those who experienced losses. Additionally, it will make payments to insureds who may not have had a loss but didn’t grow to their APH level either.
All of these applications will be directly mailed to those who qualify based off the acres and yields reported to crop insurance and the Risk Management Agency. This program is essentially replacing the WHIP+ from a few years back that some farmers in this area qualified for.
Finally, acreage reporting season is here! It seems the local FSA offices have already mailed or emailed a lot of farmers their maps. Additionally, most FSA offices will email a copy of your FSA 578 forms and maps to your crop insurance agent, which can be a great time-saver for your agent and for yourself.
If we’re lucky, the storms are behind us and we can focus on timely rains. And hopefully, the prices will stay good, and the pastures will grow. After many trying years, I think everyone in agriculture deserves a little break from the doom and gloom.
Feel free to contact me with any questions or to chat about summer grilling! My cell phone is always on — (605) 999-8011 — and you can have FSA email your 578 forms to [email protected] Have a great (and hopefully prosperous) summer!