Deadline nears for uninsured crop protection
By Staff Reports
Published in News on December 31, 2008 3:19 PM
Growers of uninsured crops have until Friday to apply for risk protection coverage through the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program for 2009.
NAP, a federally funded insurance program, provides coverage for producers affected by natural disasters.
NAP coverage requires a service fee of $100 per crop, per producery with a $300 cap per county. Out-of-pocket expenses for any producer will not exceed $900, even if production occurs in more than three counties, and service fees may be waived for eligible limited-resource producers.
NAP is meant to cover those crops including fruits and vegetables, aquaculture, turfgrass and forage crops, for which traditional crop insurance is not available.
More specifically, Friday is the closing date for beets, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, celery, chives, cilantro, greens, kale, lettuce, onions, potatoes, rutabaga, spinach and turnips.
"It is critical that producers file their 2009 application for coverage and pay their service fees by (Friday)," said Rick Tharrington, county executive director for the federal Farm Service Agency in Wayne County, in a written statement. "NAP gives producers the opportunity to purchase affordable protection against crop loss, but they need to act quickly. Like crop insurance, once the application period closes, the opportunity to obtain coverage is gone."
Once insured, to be eligible for benefits, applicants must have timely-filed acreage reports and the necessary crop loss documentation.
For more information, contact Tharrington at 734-5281.