mpci insurance

I guess we'll see what the insurance is worth this year. Bad dry, burning up like everyone else. My question is how to do yield checks when 50 plants have ears and the next 35 have none? Some won't make grain and some may if it doesn't burn up. Some nice ears are there but I'm not sure if the plant will go the distance. Sorry for the rambling...venting a little.

Huskers86, Talk to your agent and get on the list to be adjusted, My understanding is that you probably will have to run the combine thru it. I had a heckuva sweet crop last year until August 7th. We had golfball size hail for about 10 minutes. The adjuster was very good to us I hope he feels the same way this year,I have been very fortunate when it comes to rain but I'm still going to have it adjusted, with the spotty nature of the rain I may have some fields that didn"t get as much. Be careful, John

I 'm waiting on the adnuster to come now. On the phone he acted as confused as I am on how to get a good estimate. I told him if we could get a ballpark then I can decide whether or not to combine or chop it.

You will usually be better off harvesting the crop. In a year like this the whole field may average more then you think it will. It does not take many spots with ears to yield enough to make it worth harvesting. Plus there is a big difference in what the insurance pays. Unharvested acres used to only be paid 65% verses 80% for harvested. You need to check your policy. They are all a little different.

The real kick in the butt will be the zero yield you will get credited for if you don't harvest. Had a few farms I rent that had zeros in 1988. The insured yield is still lower because of that.

Another thing. If you have three claims in a ten year period they will lower your allowable percentage of coverage. I had that happen in the early 1990s. I had a large claim in 1988 just like everyone else. I had two other years that just one farm would get hit by hail. Those two other years the claim pay out was way less than my total premium. They still claimed I had losses 30% of the time. So they wanted to lower my insured value. It did not make them any difference that those two years had very small claims.

Since then I only carry the minimum required to keep the Farm Service people happy. After a few years of saving the high premiums I am better off. I can usually salvage something with the livestock anyway.

My feelings exactly. This whole crop insurance thing is a lot of crap to me.
A real crop insurance program that really pays those who need it when they need it should be the job of the FSA. It seems like they hand out more money when it really isn't needed.(Like LDP's on harvested bushels!?!?!?!) The more you harvest, the more you get paid?!?!?
A few smart farmers could set down and design a program that would limit those who would take advantage, and pay those really in need. But that will never happen. It would make too much sense, and couldn't be budgeted for.

Back in the 80's, or was it early 90's, we needed real basic crop insurance to be in the farm program.

Signed up, the agent talked me into the $8.50 an acre coverage as it was so much better than the $7 coverage.

Had a very wet year, yield was around 50%, coulsd see that early on. Visited the agent, he turned around, got an orange paper he handed me, and it outlined how as a new user I'd be discounted 20% of 10% of the whole 80%, and there would be this cdiscount & that discount.

I took the paper home, figured itt out, and if I had zero yield, the most the insurance would pay me woulda been $18 an acre.

Funny he didn't know anything about that paper when I was signing up, just kept telling me I'd only need a 20% loss to start getting free money, soch a good deal.

I have a dim view of crop insurance and insurance agents since then.

--->Paul

sounds like most of you have very little knowledge of crop ins. OR bought the cheapest thing out there. i would never allow my crop to be chopped as you lose all the humus for the soil and will pay dearly, for years to come, for that mistake!
I live in a dry area where it isn't "IF" there will be a drought, the word i use is "When" there is a drought! In 1988, i had a poor insurance agent, he cost me dearly. I keep up on all the changes now and know as much or more then my agent!

TomNE: I don't like the fact that people want to be covered for a "normal" occurrence. If you are farming in dry land NE then having to deal with some years of low yields because of dry weather IS NORMAL. It should not be covered under any type of insurance.

Just like farming river/creek bottoms then crying because you got flooded. BOTTOMS FLOOD!!!!!

IF you do a high risk things you should not be able to cry wolf when you get nailed for doing a high risk thing.

Well, got done with the adjuster and found out I did put revenue coverage on that dryland and bonus...gonna make 60 bpa so I guess I'll combine it. Draws should make 130.

kind of like miners getting compenation for black lung. or plumbers for meso. should their insurance pay? Folks insure everything these days,race horses in case they hurt themselves on the track,bulls ,dogs, just about everything. why not crops if youve got the money? now i agree that sometimes its crazy what they do insure,and the places they insure it at.

I think most of you making comments here need to get a better agent. I work for a crop insurance company as a claims manager and have been in the industry for almost 19 years.

My experience tells me that most agents do not have a clue what they are selling. If your agent is not a crop insurance only agent, he probably doesnt know much.

As far as having to combine the crop, its your choice. The adjuster will appraise your crop and you are welcome to be with them when they do it. They should pic areas in the field that are representative of the field so if the row has some ears and part of the roe doesnt they should choose a place to sample that has some ears and not some ears in proportion to the rest of the field. Most adjusters will tell you, that you have to combine the field. Usually they tell you that because they are too lazy to appraise it.

Your premium is based on your yield. The company cannot surcharge you or change your coverage because you have 3 claims in a row. It is your average yield going down that changes your premium or guaranteed bushels.

Very well put. My guys I work with are top notch and knowledgeable fellows and got me on a better plan than I remembered. My agent and I discussed what best suited me but I had forgotten what I had from last year. Sucks getting older. :lol: