WASHINGTON, D.C. — Farmers in 36 states who lost yields on fruit and vegetable crops in 2012 have an opportunity for disaster relief assistance.
Most producers, however, may be disappointed to discover no disaster benefits await them. Only crops that do not have federal crop insurance coverage protection and are covered by the Non-Insured Assistance Program (NAP) will be eligible for a payout.
The office of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, (D-Mich.) released information last week under a provision of the 2014 farm bill that provides assistance to eligible growers of uninsurable crops. Signup opened on July 22.
"Family farms and businesses shouldn’t have to go under because of a few days of bad weather," Stabenow, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said. "That’s why it was so crucial when writing the 2014 farm bill to make sure that growers of all crops have access to relief to keep their farms running.
"Frosts and freezes in 2012 destroyed crops like cherries and apples in Michigan and across the country, leaving so many fruit growers who did not have access to crop insurance struggling to keep family farms from going under. I’m proud that these hard-working farmers will finally be able to access relief to help keep their businesses operating, and continue growing the economy."
Michigan fruit growers were especially hard hit that year by an unusually warm, early spring that prompted fruit crops into an early bloom. Only weeks later, successive nights of late-season hard frosts decimated the blossoming trees during the most susceptible growth period, leaving apple, peach, cherry orchards and more void of fruit for the season.
Federal Crop Insurance Corp. coverage (FCIC) varies by county. In Van Buren County, one of Michigan’s leading fruit crop producers, apples, cherries, grapes, blueberries and peaches are all insurable under FCIC, rendering growers of those crops automatically ineligible for assistance.
"Stabenow’s announcement has generated a ton of phone calls during our already busiest time of year," according to staff members for the Van Buren County Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Paw Paw.
Dave Gavin of Gavin’s Orchard in Coopersville experienced a complete loss on his apple orchard in 2012. "We went from harvesting 50,000 bushels in 2011 to harvesting nine bushels in 2012. It wasn’t worth the effort to harvest the few apples that were out there," he said.
His apple crop was covered by FCIC insurance. But, "I would rather harvest a crop than get a crop insurance payment."
Although Gavin plans to follow up with a phone call to his local office, he said, "The FSA office doesn’t always know the details when (programs) come out. The offices are so understaffed it’s ridiculous. The USDA is not doing anybody much of a service."
Interested producers can view information online at http://go.usa.gov/ 5kSQ or visit their local FSA office. To find out if land is located in an eligible frost/freeze county, visit http://go.usa .gov/53rz