Farmers Reminded to Report Crop Damage to Insurance Agents

ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 4, 2011) – With drought damage likely in many areas of the state, Maryland farmers are reminded to stay in close contact with their crop insurance agent. A written notice of crop loss must be given to your crop insurance agent:

•    Within 72 hours of discovering the damage or loss;
•    15 days before harvesting begins;
•    Within 15 days after harvesting is completes but not later than October 20 for corn insured as tonnage for silage; and December 10 for grain corn and soybeans.

“I encourage farmers to contact their crop insurance agent to understand claim filing requirements so they get indemnities that are due,” said Agriculture Secretary Hance. “A pre-harvest yield appraisal is required for most direct-marketed crops. Farmers are also reminded never to destroy evidence of crop damage until a loss adjuster has evaluated it.”

Farmers are required to receive authorization from a loss adjuster to leave sample rows for yield determination. This method is most beneficial when the loss adjusting workload does not permit appraising damaged crop acreage before you are ready to start cutting silage. It is important that a notice of damage be filed to a crop insurance agent as early as possible so that harvesting will not be delayed.

If damaged grain-type corn is to be used for silage, the grain content must be determined before harvesting, no matter what type of insurance the grain is being protected under. If it is insured on a grain basis, a loss is determined by comparing the revenue or yield guaranteed to the appraised yield. If it is insured and harvested as tonnage, and the grain content is below normal (less than 4.5 bushels per ton), the grain-content appraisal becomes the basis for quality adjustment which may reduce the amount of silage tonnage that counts against the guarantee.

For more information, contact your local crop insurance agent. Or contact Mark Powell at the Maryland Department of Agriculture, (410) 841-5770.

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