Claims were early this year because of prevent plant acres, says Jessica Sarbacker, vice president and crop insurance manager at Lake Ridge Bank. She says the acres that did get planted look good, and she anticipates good yields.
The claims that do come in, she expects to be on the revenue side because of the price decline. Sarbacker says last year, she had 30 percent of her customers file a claim because of the price drop alone in 2023. She expects the same this year.
There is some concern about soybeans because of the drought in August. Appraisers are saying corn silage looks good.
If you insured corn for grain and you harvest for silage, you need to have an adjuster come out and appraise it. Sarbacker recommends giving your agent notice right away. That way adjusters can get out there and make it easier on the farmer so you don’t have to leave strips in the field.
There are pockets of prevent plant acres in the southern half of the state — Sarbacker says it’s worse up North. They were adding up wet holes to get to the 20-acre trigger for prevent plant. But it wasn’t widespread. If you are looking at an empty field, consider planting winter wheat or a cover. Crop insurance has updated so you don’t need to leave a field black dirt if you claim prevent plant. Corn does not qualify for a cover crop.
The deadline for winter wheat crop insurance is Sep. 30. Deadline to plant wheat is Oct. 15 in the southern half of the state. Oct. 10 up North.
Crop insurance is an element in the Farm Bill, but even if a Farm Bill continues to get held up, growers will still have access to the program. Sarbacker explains that while a delayed Farm Bill means that updates won’t get made, crop insurance is considered a permanent law and will stick around.
If you’re worried about corn and soybean prices, there’s a margin-protection program that you can buy by Sep. 30. Instead of waiting until February to set your price, you can use the September average price.
