Recent rainfall affects disaster programs

The fact that the disaster programs included in the last farm bill expired as of Sept. 30 has been mentioned in this column in recent weeks. A common question now is: "Where does that leave us if this drought continues into next year?"

This week's rainfall could make this a moot point (at least for now) as approximately five-plus inches of rain were recorded on Monday and Tuesday around the county. But if drought would eventually persist through next summer, what then?

The SURE program enrollments (for mechanically harvested crops), of course, will remain ongoing as we are just now (on Nov. 14) starting the 2010 sign up and will offer the 2011 enrollment a year from now.

Sign up for livestock programs like the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) for disaster-related death losses and the Livestock Feed Program (LFP) for grazing losses have ended as of Oct. 1.

LIP did provide benefits for a number of producers over the past couple of years with the weather extremes experienced. Purchase of disaster risk coverage was not a requirement for LIP eligibility.

Bourbon County did not qualify for LFP as the program guidelines require longer severe drought effects during the grazing season than we experienced in 2011. We were almost there, however, before the end of the grazing season, as dry conditions continued to persist.

Counties as close as Woodson, Coffey and Montgomery did qualify for the first level of LFP payment (1 month). For those eligible in 2011, LFP payments amounted to 60 percent of feed cost livestock on pasture for one to three months (depending on the duration of the drought), which equates to $20.74 per month up to the three maximum.

We also know that only a few Bourbon County producers would have qualified for LFP had Bourbon County become eligible due to the disaster coverage requirements this program had.

Since regular crop insurance is not commonly available for grazing (although most companies now offer some sort of grazing coverage), producers would need to have purchased Non-insured Assistance Program (NAP) coverage for grazing offered through our agency in order to have qualified for LFP.

So, where are we now?

We all know that 1) NAP coverage offers only very minimal coverage and 2) there is no Livestock Feed Program effective at this point. But if the drought continues and LFP is later funded, where would our producers fall in qualifying for this benefit?

The point of this review: the deadline for purchasing NAP coverage on all grasses (hay and grazing) as well as alfalfa, clover and oats is Dec. 1.

The cost is $250 per crop, per producer, per county with a maximum charge of $750 per county or $1,875 for multiple county producers.

Those wishing to invest in NAP coverage will need to complete the enrollment process and pay the applicable fees by that date.

Again note -- there are no other (LFP) disaster program benefits available that we know of now. NAP coverage itself rarely pays.

However, those wishing to "cover this base" will need to do so by the Dec. 1 deadline. Producers purchasing NAP are responsible for providing accurate and complete information and reporting acres in a timely way.

When required, producers shall provide to FSA verifiable or reliable production evidence for the crop by practice, type and variety for harvested crops. Grazing calculations are based on total livestock on hand and total acres grazed.

NAP coverage is based on 55 percent of an average market price for the commodity if a natural disaster caused a 50 percent production loss or greater of an eligible crop.

Producers are limited to $100,000 in benefits per person per crop year and must meet adjusted gross income provisions and comply with conservation compliance provisions in order to be determined eligible.