HARRISBURG, Pa. — Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff urged nursery growers who want to be protected against losses for a full year to sign up for crop insurance coverage by May 1 because adverse weather, wildlife damage and the marketability of their crop cannot be predicted.
Enrollment in new multiple peril crop insurance, or MPCI, policies can be done year-round with a 30-day waiting period before the policy takes effect.
Must be enrolled
Wolff said producers must be enrolled in a crop insurance policy, or Farm Service Agency’s non-insured crop assistance program, to be eligible to receive federal disaster assistance, if needed, from the 2008 farm bill’s Supplemental Revenue program.
Nursery insurance protects wholesale nursery production and market plants grown in standard nursery containers or in the field.
Coverage is based on a plant inventory value report declaring the value of insurable plants.
New options
This year, multiple peril nursery policies offer several new significantly improved risk management options, including policy endorsements and the option to insure field- or container-grown plants or both.
The higher the level of crop insurance, the greater the guarantees will be for policy and disaster protection.
Producers should contact a crop insurance agent well before the May 1 deadline to enroll in new MPCI policies.
The deadline to change existing policies is May 31.
A list of agents can be found at www.rma.usda.gov.
More information
For more information call 717-705-9511 or visit www.agriculture.state.pa.us/cropinsurance.
