Fruit farms need to act soon before enrollment deadlines expire

Dennis Stein, Michigan State University Extension -

Fruit farms are reminded of the deadline for enrolling in one of the Crop Insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Programs with the Farm Service Agency.

After the crop destroying spring freeze that was followed by summer drought conditions for nearly every county in Michigan, risk management should be on your mind. Farms that are faced with crop production losses may be eligible to participate in the USDA- Farm Service Agency (FSA) Emergency – Disaster Loan program.

The Non-insured Crop Disaster Program (NAP) provides coverage to producers for non-insurable crops when a natural disaster occurs. Crops eligible for NAP Coverage are those for which crop insurance is not available. Examples include fruits, vegetables and forage crops. The fee is $250 per crop or $750 per producer per county, not to exceed $1,875 for multi - county participation producers.

Limited resource producers may request a waiver of the service fee.

2013 NAP Application Deadlines: Nov. 20, 2012

 Apples / Cherries / Grapes / Peaches

2013 NAP Application Deadline: Dec. 1, 2012

 Honey

2013 NAP Application Deadlines: March 15, 2013

 Oats / Potatoes / Sorghum for forage

*Please contact your local Farm Service Agency office to verify eligibility on a crop that may not be listed.

These deadlines are also the deadlines to enroll in any of the regular crop insurance programs or in a Catastrophic Risk Protection (CAT) program for those crops that are covered. For fruit farms, you will want to check with your local crop insurance professional or your local USDA- FSA office to confirm your farm’s options so you have some type of crop risk management coverage for next year’s crop. Most farms that have suffered heavy production losses in 2012 will not want to risk the negative financial impact if another disaster develops in the 2013 crop production season. Having one of the crop insurance programs, or for those non-insurable crops, enrollment in the NAP program can help provide your farm with some risk management protection.

Additional information:

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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