USDA reminds Allamakee County producers of March 15 sales closing date for coverage for noninsurable crops

The Executive Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Allamakee County, Joyce Davidshofer, urges producers who want to purchase coverage through the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) to do so before the sales closing date of  March 15.
NAP provides financial assistance to producers of noninsurable crops when low yields/grazing loss, loss of inventory or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters including drought, freeze, hail, excessive moisture, excessive wind or hurricanes.

In order to meet eligibility requirements for NAP, crops must be noninsurable, commercially-produced agricultural commodity crops for which the catastrophic risk protection level of crop insurance is not available.
The Agricultural Act of 2014 (the 2014 Farm Bill) allows producers to choose higher levels of NAP coverage. Previously, the program offered coverage at 55 percent of the average market price for crop losses that exceed 50 percent of expected production. Producers can now choose higher levels of coverage, up to 65 percent of their expected production at 100 percent of the average market price. It is important to note that the higher coverage is not available on grazing crops.
The following crops in Allamakee County have a NAP application closing date of March 15, 2015: All other spring seeded annual crops, such as: amaranth, barley, beans, beets, broccoli, brussel sprouts, buckwheat, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, greens, herbs, lettuce, millet, okra, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, sorghum, soybeans, squash, sunflowers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips and watermelon.
“NAP policies allow producers to protect their investment by purchasing coverage for noninsurable crops,” said Davidshofer. “Natural disasters are an unavoidable part of farming and ranching and FSA programs like NAP help producers to recover when they experience a loss.”  
Eligible producers must file the application and pay a service fee by the March 15 deadline. Producers also pay a fixed premium for higher coverage. Beginning, limited resource and underserved farmers may request a waiver of the service fee and a 50 percent premium reduction when the application for coverage is filed.  
For more information on NAP, service fees, premiums and sales closing dates, contact the Allamakee County FSA office at 563-568-2148 and visit the web at www.fsa.usda.gov/nap.