Farmers enjoyed another week of good harvest progress. Corn is now 93 percent complete and soybeans, 95 percent against averages of 88 and 93 percent. Winter wheat planting is finished in Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota and is 92 percent complete in the major states, USDA reports. However, it’s lagging somewhat in Texas, at 76 percent seeded against an average of 87 percent, and Arkansas, where at 69 versus 79 percent on average.
Crop Insurance Matters
Livestock feeders: With your production safely stored away, request an appraisal before feeding any to livestock! You do not need to keep contemporaneous feeding records if total production is determined by the insurance company before feeding begins. If you fail to determine total covered production, you are subject to added recordkeeping. Some producers are being audited back several years as USDA’s Risk Management Agency looks for “improper payments” due to noncompliance with the rules.
The recordkeeping requirements are:
- Record each feeding in writing at the time it occurs
- Provide the amount of production, by crop, fed at each feeding
- Provide the number, kind and average weight of livestock fed
- Provide the physical location of where the livestock was fed
- Provide the unit number from which the fed production was harvested if directly fed from field OR provide physical location of bin/storage facility if stored before being fed
- Include the crop year in which the production was harvested
Deadlines for reporting acreage and production are near. Contact your crop insurance agent.
With fall prices lower than the spring guarantees, revenue indemnities are possible this year. Revenue loss claims must be filed by December 15.
Production loss claims must be filed by December 10.
