WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said today that producers who currently participate in Federal crop insurance and are experiencing a delay in harvesting their crop should contact their Approved Insurance Provider (AIP) to file a Notice of Loss and request more time to harvest. 

Producers in several states, including Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, have been affected by extremely wet and snowy conditions early this fall.

“Farmers are having a hard time with weather this year, and this early fall snow is just another example of this year’s weather challenges,” said Martin Barbre, Administrator of USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA). “Impacted producers covered by Federal crop insurance should contact their insurance agent as soon as possible to determine what actions they can take.”

Producers must file a Notice of Loss and request more time to harvest before the end of the insurance period, so that Federal crop insurance claims are settled based on the amount of harvested production. The end of the insurance period for crops such as spring-planted wheat and barley is October 31 and for corn and soybeans is December 10.

AIPs may allow additional time to harvest, on a case-by-case basis, when all these conditions are met:

  • The producer gives timely notice of loss to his or her crop insurance agent.
  • The AIP determines and documents that the delay in harvest was due to an insured cause of loss.
  • The producer demonstrates that harvest was not possible due to insured causes, such as wet conditions preventing access to the field with equipment or that harvesting under such conditions would damage equipment.
  • The delay in harvest was not because the producer did not have sufficient equipment or manpower to harvest the crop by the end of the insurance period. 

When an AIP authorizes additional time to harvest:

  • The end of the insurance period is not extended. Rather, the producer is granted additional time to attempt to harvest the crop to settle any loss based on harvested production.
  • Any additional damage to the insured crop during the extension period is covered provided it is due to an insurable cause of loss like excessive moisture.
  • ·The producer’s crop insurance policy will cover loss of quality (as specified in the crop provisions), reduced yields, and revenue losses if revenue coverage was chosen.
  • The cost of drying the harvested crop is not covered. 

More Information
More information on requesting assistance due to delayed harvest is available on RMA’s website. 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. Learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov.