FSA office accepts notices of loss for frost-damaged crops
The freezing temperatures that occurred in early April appears to have caused considerable damage to commodity crops, nursery crops, and some vegetable crops. Producers have reported temperatures falling into the teens in outlying areas. Officially, a low temperature of 21 degrees was recorded on April 8, 2007 in Warren County.
?Producers have been advised that crops should be reported within 15 days from the date of the damage or the date the loss was apparent,? said Steve Stubblefield, County Executive Director of the Warren County Farm Service Agency. ?The 15 days applies only to producers who have NAP coverage. NAP, the Non-Insurable Acreage Program, covers losses to crops that are not insured under the Federal Crop Insurance Program.?
Producers who have FCIC insurance should contact their crop insurance agent and advise the agent of the loss.
?For those nursery producers who do not have insurance, FSA will accept a notice of loss,? Stubblefield said. ?Forms are available for producers to provide information regarding their ?before and after? plant numbers, the variety, size, and value of plants. This form should be completed by the producer/grower and reported to FSA along with a CCC-576, Notice of loss form.?
In the case of nursery stock production, since this is a ?value-loss crop?, an acreage report is not necessarily required. Once the inventory form is completed, producers can telephone the FSA office to arrange an appointment to complete the reporting of loss. Producers of wheat, oats, or hay crops may also wish to file a notice of loss with FSA to document that damage has occurred to various crops.
According to Stubblefield, producers who did not have insurance should document the loss as best they can; making photos of damaged crops, maintaining receipts, sales contracts, etc. If you have already reported and filed a notice of loss, but did not have crop insurance, you may want to obtain a inventory sheet, complete the information and submit this to FSA to file with your notice of loss form (CCC-576).
Stubblefield says that although there is currently no program to compensate for the loss, the information provided will provide a history of production. ?This information may be used if a crop disaster program is implemented. Filing a notice of loss DOES NOT qualify for payment.?
The Warren County Farm Service Agency is located at 811 Faulkner Springs Road. Office hours are 8:00-4:30 Monday through Friday and are closed on all Federal holidays.