Crop insurers do not have position on APH update
August 14, 2014 | 05:12 PM
The crop insurance companies that do business with the federal government do not have a position on whether the Agriculture Department should make it possible for farmers to update their actual production history (APH) quickly, The Hagstrom Report has learned.
The farm bill has a provision to allow farmers to update their APH and exclude their worst performance year under certain circumstances.
But Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has said that USDA does not have the personnel to implement that provision for crop year 2015 because it is still working on the new programs in the commodity title.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., has called on USDA to act, particularly for drought-hit counties in Oklahoma and Texas, but today DTN The Progressive Farmer reported that farmers in other parts of the country are also pushing for a faster update.
Today in an email, a spokesman for National Crop Insurance Services said, “AIPs [approved insurance providers] do not have a position on this issue.”
“We are working with the USDA to carry out the provisions of the farm bill as they are implemented,” the NCIS said. “We will follow the Agency’s guidance with respect to when the APH provision will take effect.”
▪ DTN The Progressive Farmer — Debate Rages Over APH Forgiveness
The farm bill has a provision to allow farmers to update their APH and exclude their worst performance year under certain circumstances.
But Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has said that USDA does not have the personnel to implement that provision for crop year 2015 because it is still working on the new programs in the commodity title.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., has called on USDA to act, particularly for drought-hit counties in Oklahoma and Texas, but today DTN The Progressive Farmer reported that farmers in other parts of the country are also pushing for a faster update.
Today in an email, a spokesman for National Crop Insurance Services said, “AIPs [approved insurance providers] do not have a position on this issue.”
“We are working with the USDA to carry out the provisions of the farm bill as they are implemented,” the NCIS said. “We will follow the Agency’s guidance with respect to when the APH provision will take effect.”
▪ DTN The Progressive Farmer — Debate Rages Over APH Forgiveness
