As written by Dr. Larry Steckal on UT Crops News Blog , producers in Tennessee in the Mississippi River bottoms are planting ultra-late soybeans on ground previously flooded. Before planting, there may be some crop insurance considerations to take into account. Producers should have already contacted their crop insurance agent and discussed the situation with them. This is critical as this can be a complicated issue and if timely reporting has not been done, there may not be an indemnity payment.  Remember, acreage reported and certified at Farm Service Agency is the same acreage used with crop insurance.

Let’s look at a couple of different situations:

Flooded land not planted – in crop insurance terms this is deemed prevent plant. In order to receive a prevent plant indemnity payment, producers needed to have reported to their crop insurance agent within 72 hours of the end of the late plant period. If that has been done, then eligible acres can receive a prevented planting indemnity payment. If a producer still wants to plant soybeans on that ground, they can still receive 35% of the prevent plant payment and plant soybeans. These soybeans would be non-insured. So the decision here is to compare on eligible acres – receiving 100% of the prevent plant payment and not planting soybeans vs receiving 35% of the prevent plant payment and planting non insured soybeans.

Planted but flooded – these acres are considered failed acres and could receive an indemnity payment depending on unit structure. Generally speaking, there is no replant payment for soybeans planted after the late planting period. The crop insurance company may have some discretion on this. In most cases it would be better to receive the full insurance payment vs just receiving the replant payment.  This is probably a mute point as most companies will not pay for replant after the late planting period. Soybeans planted after the late planting period are uninsured. However, these acres need to be reported to your crop insurance agent and production from these acres kept separate and also reported. Otherwise, this can create issues with future claims.

Unit Structure – whether producers will receive an indemnity payment may depend on their unit structure. This can depend on how the farm is rented, different landlords, or if it is owned ground. For example a farm in the bottoms that is completely lost that is the only farm on a FSA farm number may have a claim. If that farm is included with another farm that is not flooded, then the production may offset the lost acres and there not be a claim. This may be a good opportunity to visit with your crop insurance agent on how your unit structure is organized.

In summary, producers who have crop insurance on their flooded ground should visit with their crop insurance agent and or adjustor before planting. This can be a complicated issue but is an important management issue that needs to be taken care of.