Last October, I wrote an article on the effect of cover crops and crops insurance (see http://ohioagmanager.osu.edu/farm-policy/is-planting-cover-crops-affecting-my-crop-insurance-coverage). New rules have been put in place to make it easier to insure spring planted crops following cover crops. Producers can now submit a request for actuarial change for a crop following a cover crop (referred to as a FCC practice). The FCC practice is defined as, “planting the insurable crop after a crop planted as a cover crop has reached the headed or budded stage and/or that has been harvested on the same acreage in the same calendar year.”
Previously the cover crop had to be destroyed prior to budding or heading, in order to insure the spring planted crop. Since the weather and field conditions may not always allow for the destruction of the cover crop prior to heading or budding, the new rules state the crop must be destroyed prior to May 15th and a written request for actuarial change must be filed with the insurance agent no later than July 15th although making the request as early as possible is recommended. If the cover crop is destroyed prior to heading or budding, no written request is required.
With the FCC practice, there is no increase in insurance premiums or decrease in insurable crop yields compared to the not following another crop (NFAC) practice. However, farmers will be required to keep yield data from the FFC practice fields separate from their traditional practices. This data will create a data base to see if actuarial tables should be different for FCC practices in the future.
If the cover crop is destroyed after May 15th the spring planted crop would become ineligible for insurance coverage. For more information see http://www.rma.usda.gov/fields/il_rso/2011/covercrops.pdf