Partners Magazine

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) threshold for an Actual Production History (APH) policy review is $200,000.

An APH policy review is simply the process of verifying the accuracy of the insured reported production, share and acres. Accurate and complete records will simplify the process along with the following guidelines:

• Production records must be separated by crop, practice, type, unit, and the actual crop year.
• Records must be sorted by the FSA-578 producer prints, settlement sheets, and soft records.
• The insured must keep three years of production records.
• Daily livestock feeding should be recorded daily.
• Printed combine monitor records should be stored with settlement sheets.
• The insured cannot split truckloads, tickets, and bins between units without proper soft records for co-mingled production.
• Co-mingled production needs to be measured by a disinterested third party.
• The insured should keep original records and provide the Approved Insurance Providers (AIP) with copies.

Hard records are production records that prove the final disposition of the total crop and are verifiable by a third party. Soft records are the documents an insured must provide if production is separated by unit, practice, type, or variety. Soft records must include all units. Missing or incomplete soft records may result in co-mingled production and the loss of optional units. This may result in a lower guarantee.

If you think you will be submitting a claim that will be above the $200,000 threshold, please contact your agent to begin the APH Review process. Most claims will not be paid until the review is completed. The earlier the process begins, the earlier a claim can be paid. For more details, please contact your local GreenStone crop insurance specialist.

Acreage Reports
It is the customer’s responsibility to report the crop that was planted in each section, the planting date, the percent share of that crop and the quantity harvested. Reporting your crop accurately and double checking everything is especially important. Corrections or changes cannot be made after the reporting deadline. If you have any questions or would like assistance, contact your local GreenStone crop insurance team.

Sweet Cherry Insurance Change
Growers can now have optional units by type, where they can have independent coverage for canner and briner type Processing Sweet Cherries. Contact your specialty crop agent for more information.

End of Insurance Period
Insurance ends on each unit or part of unit at the earliest of:

• Total destruction of the crop
• Harvest
• Final adjustment of loss
• Applicable calendar date in the crop or special provisions
• Abandonment
• Or, as otherwise specified in the Crop Provisions

Provisions require a Notice of Loss (NOL) within 72 hours of damage discovery but not later than 15 days after the end of insurance period. Revenue losses must be submitted no later than 45 days after the release of Harvest Price. It is the insureds’ responsibility to contact their crop insurance specialist if they have or think they have a loss.

Apple Reminders
November 20, 2025, is the sales closing deadline to change your current coverage or take out a new policy for the 2026 crop year. Premiums are not billed to you until August 15, 2026, and are due September 30. Your current coverage will carry over for 2026 if you do not change anything in writing by November 20. January 15 is the acreage and yield reporting deadline for fruit. Please report acres and production as early as possible! The County Transitional Yield (T-Yield) and 2026 prices have been recently announced. That information will be included in your renewal information later this year or you can contact your crop insurance specialist for more details.


Co-Mingled Production
Please be aware that any production from 2024 being carried over into the 2025 harvest needs to be measured or marked by an adjuster prior to adding the current year’s production. Added production needs to be kept separate by unit through bin markings. If you need a bin measurement, call your crop insurance specialist.


Important – Claims and Appraisals
Most producers have been there before. No matter what you do during the growing season, sometimes Mother Nature just will not cooperate, and you are anticipating that your yields may fall below your guarantee. Obviously, this is not the situation you would like to be in, but that is why you purchased crop insurance to begin with. If you do find yourself in a claim’s situation, there are some important things to remember that can help the process go a lot more smoothly.

Insurance coverage begins at time of application or time of planting, whichever is later. The end of the insurance period is the earlier of destruction of the crop, final harvest of the crop, abandonment of the crop, or the end of the insurance period (October 31st for wheat). It is the insured’s responsibility to notify the insurance company within 72 hours of the initial discovery of the damage or production loss, but no later than 15 days after the end of the insurance period, even if the crop has not been harvested. A phone call to your crop insurance specialist can start the process, but it needs to be followed up in writing with a text or email. If you have a revenue protection policy and have a claim based on strictly price, the insurance company must be notified within 45 days of the harvest price announcement for the crop. The RMA is enforcing these rules and has been known to decline late filed claim requests and have even requested repayment from an insured for paid claims that were improperly filed.

Remembering these key points will help avoid any problems with your claim and make the process go that much better. As always, if you have questions based on what you have read, please contact your crop insurance specialist and they will be able to help you out.


Larger Investment in Crop Insurance Subsidies from the One Big Beautiful Bill

On August 20, 2025, the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced the rollout of crop insurance enhancements authorized under the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act, effective retroactively to July 1, 2025. Here’s what producers can expect from these enhancements:

• Whole Farm Revenue Protection: Maximum coverage increased from 85% to 90%, enhancing protection for diversified operations.
• SCO: Premium support has been raised from 65% to 80% and is now available regardless of Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) elections at Farm Service Agency (FSA) expanding access.
• Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) and Marginal Coverage Option (MCO): Both will receive 80% subsidy support, improving affordability. This option begins covering at 95% down to 86%. This provides additional revenue based coverage on the county.
• Beginning Farmers & Ranchers (BFR): Increased premium support during the first decade of farming operations, making crop insurance more affordable for the next generation of producers. In addition, BFR is now defined as an individual who has not actively operated and managed a farm or ranch for more than 10 crop years.
• Basic and Optional unit policies: Both will also experience an increase in subsidy. Below is the increase in subsidy coverage levels:

To view the rest of the 2025 fall Partners articles please click here.