Farmers Hear Crop Disaster Options

Record rains in Valley County prompted several local crop insurance agencies to host a seminar for the purpose of discussing relief options available to their insured farmers.

Jenifer Hanson of the Rain And Hail Crop Insurance Agency gave the presentation outlining the several options farmers have for filing damage claims with their insurance agencies.

Farmers from Valley, Roosevelt and Daniels counties were in attendance. A few of them participated in the Q&A period, which followed Hanson's informative presentation.

Main topics of the seminar were falling numbers and sprout, two maladies most farmers understand. The presenter was knowledgable in these topics, explaining the options for insurance claims.

One salient point is that when filing a claim, the farmer cannot take a “tailgate sample,” although as Hanson stated, “It might be more accurate” but must be taken by a certified claims adjuster. From there the sample has to go to the Montana State Laboratory for testing using the falling numbers method. The claimant is responsible for the testing fees.

If the farmer delivers his grain to an elevator and the elevator probes his load, it can then be sent to the State Lab and the results will be accepted by the insurance company. Again, the farmer will be billed for the testing.

Another point of discussion was that a farmer cannot be paid for sprouting and falling numbers. It must be one or the other, and a computer will determine which is more beneficial to the insured.

The U.S. government has declared there will be “no zero value crop losses,” mainly because there are companies that will buy your damaged crop no matter the degree of damage and thereby eliminating a claim of total destruction.

One farmer stated that his crop was entirely under water and he can't get in to combine, and he wondered how the damage could be assessed. He was told that a claims adjuster will gather stalks of wheat and hand thresh to get enough for a sample, then send it to the state lab.

The question was asked, “If I sell my grain before the End Of Insurance Period but delivery is set for four months later, how is my payment determined?”

Hanson called it “an excellent question. I defined it that way because I really don't have an answer, but I will get one before the meeting ends.” The answer came later – and it stated that the price is determined at the time money changes hands.

In the case one can't get into the field by the cutoff date of Oct. 31 you can file for an extension, usually for not more than two to three weeks.

The presenter also stated that if a person “suspects” they might have a damage issue, they should file a claim immediately through a Notice of Claim form available at your insurer.

Allison Molvig of the Helland Agency and Mike Mitchell of the United Insurance Agency were co-hosts of the seminar.

If you have any questions or comments you should contact either of them or your own insurer and they can answer your queries. Or log on to http://www.rma.usda.gov/tools. Then go to the information browser and type in the crop, year, type of plan, state and county. That will take you to a horizontal bar. Hit “special provisions” and you should get all the information you need.