USDA sign up begins

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that sign-up begins for 2012 crop losses under the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program.

The program, established by the 2008 Farm Bill, provides for one final period of eligibility for producers suffering crop losses caused by natural disasters occurring through Sept. 30, 2011, for crops intended for 2012 harvest.

“Most producers who suffered losses before Sept. 30, 2011, have already been compensated if they applied for SURE benefits for the 2011 crop year,” said FSA Administrator Juan M. Garcia. “This sign-up period is only for those producers who suffered crop losses for 2012 crops before Sept. 30, 2011.”

To be eligible for SURE, a farm or ranch must have:

At least a 10 percent production loss on a crop of economic significance resulting from a disaster occurring on or before Sept. 30, 2011. A crop of economic significance contributes at least five percent of the expected revenue for a producer’s farm.

Additionally, the crop must also meet the following eligibility criteria: 1) The crop must be considered a 2012 crop which means, in general, that the crop was intended for harvest in 2012; 2) For insured crops, the coverage period must have begun on or before Sept. 30, 2011; 3) For crops covered by the Non-Insured Crop Assistance Program, the coverage period must have begun on or before Sept. 30, 2011; 4) The final planting date, according to the specific coverage for the crop, must have been on or before Sept. 30, 2011.

Note: A producer who only plants fall seeded or spring seeded crops with a final planting date on Oct. 1, 2011 or later) cannot meet the above eligibility criteria and will not be eligible for the 2012 SURE program.
A policy or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program for all economically significant crops;

Been physically located in a county that was declared a primary disaster county or contiguous county by the Secretary of Agriculture under a Secretarial Disaster Designation. Without a Secretarial Disaster Designation, individual producers may be eligible if the actual production on the farm is less than 50 percent of the normal production on the farm due to a natural disaster. A ¡§farm¡¨ for SURE purposes means the entirety of all crop acreage in all counties that a producer planted or intended to be planted for harvest for normal commercial sale or on-farm livestock feeding, including native and improved grassland intended for haying.

Producers considered socially disadvantaged, a beginning farmer or rancher, or a limited resource farmer may be eligible for SURE without a policy or plan of insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program coverage.
Farmers and ranchers interested in signing up must do so before the Aug. 29, 2014, deadline.

For more information on the 2012 SURE program, visit any USDA Service Center or online at www.fsa.usda.gov/sure.