Paul Russell and Tom Smiarowski, UMass Risk Management/Crop Insurance Education Program
November 20, 2017 is the deadline to purchase Federal Crop Insurance on:
Apples (all counties in Massachusetts except Barnstable, Dukes, Nantucket & Suffolk; RMA Fact Sheet Apples).
Peaches (only available in Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex & Worcester Counties; RMA Fact Sheet Peaches).
In addition, November 20, 2017 is the deadline to cancel an existing policy on apples and peaches and also to update coverage levels on apples and peaches.
November 20, 2017 is also the deadline to purchase coverage for perennial crops under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) administered by the USDA - Farm Service Agency (FSA). NAP coverage is available on all fruit crops that are not covered under Federal Crop Insurance. Catastrophic level coverage (50% yield/55% price) and “Buy-Up” coverage levels are available. Interested producers should contact the USDA-FSA office that serves their farming operation immediately!
Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) Insurance
WFRP is a Federal Crop Insurance policy that covers the revenue on your entire farming operation rather than the yield(s) on an individual crop. WFRP might be a viable option for producers wishing to cover their entire farming operation and the cost of WFRP has proven to be quite reasonable for the amount of coverage available. RMA Fact Sheeet WFRP
The deadline to purchase a WFRP policy for calendar year tax filers is March 15, 2018 and the deadline for fiscal year filers with a fiscal year beginning after September 1 or later is November 20, 2017. Note: the WFRP policy does NOT attach until 10 days after the application is approved by the insurance provider. So if you are looking for WFRP to cover potential losses to fruit crops over the winter months, you must purchase the WFRP policy as soon as possible.
Another important note: you cannot purchase a WFRP policy if you have Catastrophic (CAT) level coverage on apples or peaches covered by a Federal Crop Insurance policy!
Federal Crop Insurance Sales Agents
All Federal Crop Insurance is sold by private crop insurance agents. A list of approved sales agents serving Massachusetts can be found at the following link: https://prodwebnlb.rma.usda.gov/apps/AgentLocator/#/.
Questions
Producers with questions can contact Paul Russell (pmrussell@umass.edu) or Tom Smiarowski (tsmiarowski@umass.edu). Paul and Tom do not sell Federal Crop Insurance but are knowledgeable about available policies and coverages. Also, sometimes the Federal Crop Agent Locator website can be difficult to navigate, so Paul and Tom can provide a list of approved sales agents though they cannot recommend sales agents.
