USDA
Provides Greater Protection for Fruit, Vegetable and Other Specialty
Crop Growers-Free Basic Coverage Plans and Premium Discounts
Available for New, Underserved and Limited Income Farmers
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[December 29, 2014]
Greater protection is now available
from the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program for crops that
traditionally have been ineligible for federal crop insurance. The
new options, created by the 2014 Farm Bill, provide greater coverage
for losses when natural disasters affect specialty crops such as
vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, floriculture, ornamental nursery,
aquaculture, turf grass, ginseng, honey, syrup, and energy crops.
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Previously, the program offered coverage at 55 percent of the
average market price for crop losses that exceed 50 percent of
expected production. Producers can now choose higher levels of
coverage, up to 65 percent of their expected production at 100
percent of the average market price.
The expanded protection will be especially helpful to beginning
and traditionally underserved producers, as well as farmers with
limited resources, who will receive fee waivers and premium
reductions for expanded coverage. More crops are now eligible
for the program, including expanded aquaculture production
practices, and sweet and biomass sorghum. For the first time, a
range of crops used to produce bioenergy will be eligible as
well.
![](../images/ads/current/frontier_insurance_LDA_052814.png)
To help producers learn more about the Noninsured Crop Disaster
Assistance Program and how it can help them, USDA, in
partnership with Michigan State University and the University of
Illinois, created an online resource. The Web tool, available at
www.fsa.usda.gov/nap, allows producers to determine whether
their crops are eligible for coverage. It also gives them an
opportunity to explore a variety of options and levels to
determine the best protection level for their operation.
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![](../images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_051513.png)
If the application deadline for an eligible crop has already passed,
producers will have until Jan. 14, 2015, to choose expanded coverage
through the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. T o learn
more, visit the Farm Service Agency (FSA) website at
www.fsa.usda.gov/nap or contact your local FSA office at
offices.usda.gov. The Farm Service Agency (FSA), which administers
the program, also wants to hear from producers and other interested
stakeholders who may have suggestions or recommendations on the
program. Written comments will be accepted until Feb. 13, 2015 and
can be submitted through www.regulations.gov.
Questions?
Please contact your local County FSA Office with an questions
concerning this message.
[USDA Farm Service Agency]
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2014/Dec/23/images/ads/current/christian_village_lda_061014.png) |