USDA official says help will be available to ease corn, soybean crop losses

Murphy held a “barn hall” meeting today at the Eric and Peggy Lawyer farm near Shirley – one of two such stops planned in the state – to talk with growers about assistance available to help them through a drought that has decimated crops across the country.

Murphy assured that all claims will be paid and premiums for next year should not increase as a result of this year’s catastrophic crop loss.

“It’s devastating,” Murphy said of the conditions he’s seen across the country, including during recent visits to Missouri and Tennessee.

“We’ve never seen a year like this.”

With such widespread impact, Murphy said one of the biggest concerns he’s heard from farmers is whether the RMA and private crop insurance companies have enough cash on hand to cover what are likely to be record payouts this year.

“We expected to see losses; that is why we collect premiums,” Murphy said. “Everybody will be paid. There is no issue whatsoever funding this program, so put your mind at ease.”

Murphy said the RMA is “the envy of the department” because there is no limit on the amount of money it can access to cover claims. The 15 private insurance companies that participate in the program are also well-financed and will have no trouble making payments, he added.

Crop insurance payments are expected to reach record levels this year as the drought persists across much of the Corn Belt. On Friday, the USDA downgraded forecasts for both corn and soybeans. The report predicted yields reaching a 17-year low for corn and a nine-year low for soybeans.

Eric Lawyer said he’ll be lucky to have a 50 percent corn crop.

Lawyer pulled sample ears from several fields Sunday to show Murphy. Lawyer said fields are inconsistent at best. While he was able to find a few decent-sized ears with a nearly complete kernel fill, others were shriveled with quarter to half-ear fill; some stalks had no ears.

“We’re just happy for the good ears that are out there,” he said.

Lawyer said he’ll wait until harvest to see how the crop finally turns out. With a few more good rains, Lawyer said, his bean crop may have a shot, but he expects to be filing a crop loss claim just the same.

There will be many producers filing claims this year, either for the first time or for the first time in a long time. Murphy told producers to file early if they’re going to abandon a crop to avoid a longer wait for payment. Even with the record number of claims likely to be filed, Murphy said there should be no problem with claims being paid within 30 days of filing.

Murphy also told producers that to avoid issues with claims and allow for an appraisal they should contact their insurer and local Farm Service Agency office before destroying a crop or planting a cover crop. He also suggested producers should leave a representative strip if they have questions about an appraisal. Cover crops, which could help ease the pinch for livestock farmers running short on feed, will not affect claims. He said his agency will release a statement with more guidance for the planting of cover crops later this week.

Murphy also recommended that farmers have their records in order and on hand when filing a claim, as they will be needed for at least the last year, if not further, for claims exceeding $200,000.

“This year, that could be pretty common,” he said.

Crop insurance is an expensive investment for producers each year, but is well worth it in years like this one. As long as grain farmers opted into the crop insurance program, they should have no problem maintaining profitability even with such poor crop conditions.

“This is truly a safety net for us, and this year it’s really going to pay off,” said Ken Rulon.

Rulon farms more than 5,000 acres of corn and beans in Hamilton County and said that, like others, his fields are inconsistent and he will need to file a crop-loss claim this year.

“It’s almost indescribable how important this program is,” he said.