Delayed Harvest Wet Conditions
Extremely wet conditions are delaying harvest of sugar beets, potatoes,
cotton, corn, and soybeans. In some cases the moisture content is so
high the crop cannot be physically harvested with normal harvest equipment.
Actions You Can Take
- Contact your crop insurance agent and report a loss.
- Tell your agent that your harvest is delayed because of bad weather.
- Continue your normal and customary harvesting practices, if possible.
- Document conditions for your acreage and the actions you take so you can receive an accurate claim payment, if one is due.
- You must harvest your crop during the extension period if a window of opportunity arises. If you do not, the crop insurance company will appraise the acreage at that time and finalize the claim based on that appraisal. Damage occurring after the window of opportunity to harvest is uninsurable.
Coverage
Your crop insurance policy will cover loss of quality (as specified in the
crop provisions), reduced yields, and revenue losses if you chose revenue coverage.
The cost of drying the harvested crop is NOT covered.
End of Insurance Period
If you are unable to harvest by the calendar date for the end of the insurance
period because of extreme wet or snowy conditions, you can ask for more time
to harvest beyond the end of the insurance period calendar date from your crop
insurance company.
The end of the insurance period is December 10 for most spring planted crops; November 15 for sugar beets in most States and counties; and October 15 for potatoes in some areas. The specific date is found in your crop provisions and is a contractual date that is not extended by the Risk Management Agency. Read the crop provisions in your policy to be sure of the date.
The Risk Management Agency’s procedures (Loss Adjustment Manual Standards Handbook, FCIC 25010) allow your crop insurance company to authorize policyholders, on a case-by-case basis, more time to attempt to harvest so claims can be settled based on harvested production.
Additional Time To Harvest
Your crop insurance company may allow
additional time to harvest when the following conditions are met:
(a) You give timely notice of loss to your
crop insurance agent;
(b) The crop insurance company determines
and documents that the delay in harvest was due to an insured cause
of loss;
(c) You demonstrate to the crop insurance
company that harvest was not possible due to insured causes; and
(d) The
delay in harvest was not due to uninsured causes of loss nor because
you did not have sufficient equipment or manpower to harvest the crop
by the end of the insurance period.
When your crop insurance company authorizes additional time to harvest, the end of the insurance period is NOT extended. Rather, you are granted additional time to attempt to harvest the crop in order to settle any loss based on harvested production. Any additional damage to your crop (by an insured cause of loss) during the extension period is covered. Any Avoidable production loss will be charged as an appraisal against the guarantee in your policy.
Please be aware that if there is significant snow cover, if the crop is under water, or if extreme wet conditions exist, the crop insurance company should not (and is not required to) perform final inspections when conditions make it impossible to obtain appraisals accurately.