Crop Insurance Corner BY CALEB DOUCE, DOUCE AGENCY, LLC
CALEB DOUCE
Many would agree that no truer words have been spoken. The American farmer is not only an optimist, but he’s a pivotal cog in the wheel that helps our country grow. That being said, now’s a great time to review some details for those farmers who may be thinking of planting winter wheat and barley. Barley is now an insurable crop in a number of Ohio counties. Be sure to ask your agent if barley coverage is available in your county.
Fall seeded crops have a final plant date of Oct. 20 to ensure that 100% coverage is maintained. If that deadline is missed, there’s a 1% reduction in coverage for each day of late planting from Oct. 21-25. Once the calendar reads Oct. 26, the maximum reduction in coverage is leveraged but with full premium still in place. The premium due date for fall seeded crops is July 1. One final note about fall seeded crops and the insurance that covers them: There’s no replant coverage for these crops. Again, we salute and thank the farmers who keep going day after day, year after year, and never give up to ensure they keep America running.
Timeline and Deadlines for Wheat and Barley As with any crop insurance, there’s a deadline for signups. For wheat and barley, that date is Sept. 30. Planting prices for both wheat and barley are set on Sept. 15. For wheat, the discovery period for establishing the planting price is Aug. 15 through Sept. 14. During this discovery period, the September futures on the Chicago Board of Trade are averaged. This is how the planting price is calculated. Similarly, barley planting prices use the same discovery period, Aug. 15 through Sept. 14, but July futures are used in the calculation instead of September futures. Now that we know how plant prices are handled, let’s look at how harvest prices are set. Wheat harvest prices are set Aug. 1, after September futures are averaged during the discovery period of July 1-31. Barley harvest prices are set on July 1, after July futures are averaged during the discovery period of June 1-30.
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AGCREDIT LEADER AUGUST 2020
“The farmer has to be an optimist or he wouldn’t still be a farmer.” —Will Rogers
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