Important Crop Insurance Deadline Near for Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio Producers: Producers Need to Certify Conservation Compliance by June 1
SPRINGFIELD, IL., May 5, 2015 - The USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) reminds producers in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio that they need to have their Highly Erodible Conservation and Wetland Conservation Certification form (AD-1026) on file with their local USDA service center by June 1, 2015. The 2014 Farm Bill required all producers have the form on file by the June 1 deadline to become or remain eligible for crop insurance premium support.
"Most producers have an AD-1026 certification form on file, however, some specialty crop, nursery, even some corn and soybean producers may not. Those with catastrophic coverage (CAT) may not realize that if they don't comply with the Conservation Compliance provisions, they will be responsible for the full premium," said Brian Frieden, director, Springfield Regional Office. "We have taken many steps recently to broaden participation in the crop insurance program as part of the farm safety net, including offering new policies such as the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection, Supplemental Coverage Option, and extending organic price elections to many new crops."
Producers should visit their local USDA service center and talk with their crop insurance agent before theJune 1, 2015, deadline to ask questions, get additional information or learn more about conservation compliance procedures. Producers who file by the deadline will be eligible for federal crop insurance premium support during the 2016 reinsurance year.
Additional information about federal crop insurance and the Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions is available on the RMA Farm Bill webpage.
Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers and online at the RMA Agent Locator. Producers can use theRMA Cost Estimator to get a premium amount estimate of their insurance needs online. Learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at www.rma.usda.gov.
If you have questions about crop insurance, please feel free to call:
David F. Niepert
Risk Management Specialist
Springfield Regional Office
Risk Management Agency
(217) 241-6600 ext. 109
***If you have other questions, particularly if they are specific to this June 1st requirement or to the form AD-1026, please contact your local USDA Service Center.
Bottom line: You must get an AD-1026 on file with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) on or before June 1, 2015.
The 2014 Farm Bill requires insureds to comply with highly erodible land conservation (HELC) and wetland conservation (WC) provisions to be eligible for crop insurance premium subsidies beginning with the 2016 reinsurance year. In 2014, FCIC paid approximately 62% of the producers premium cost. Producers that are not in compliance with WC and HELC provisions could see their premium cost double. Simply stated, by June 1, 2015, insureds must have an AD-1026 Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation Certification Form on file with FSA in the same name and taxpayer identification number you use when you purchase your crop insurance policy to retain the premium subsidy. To accommodate growers with only orchard, bush and vine crops, the new AD-1026 doesn't require the establishment of detailed farm records with FSA, only the full tax identification number to establish and record compliance is met. To ensure producers are aware of the change, the Risk Management Agency sent letters in November and again in April to producers that have crop insurance, but FSA records indicate no AD-1026 is on file.
It is also important to note that insureds with catastrophic coverage (CAT) are still required to sign an AD-1026 to be eligible for the premium subsidy. Even though they only pay an administrative fee, there is a premium associated with CAT coverage and the producer will be responsible for the full premium if they don't comply with Conservation Compliance.
To continue to be eligible for premium subsidy on any Federal crop insurance policy, including specialty crops, livestock, and pasture, a form AD-1026 must be filed with FSA by June 1, 2015. If you do not have form AD-1026 on file with FSA by June 1, 2015, or are not in compliance with the requirements as outlined on the form, you will not be eligible for premium subsidy on any Federal crop insurance policy that has a sales closing date on or after July 1, 2015. This means you may still be eligible for insurance but you will have to pay the full premium.
You can find your local FSA office at http://offices.sc.egov.
