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Deadline approaching for producers who received top-up payments

USDA’s Risk Management Agency Administrator Martin Barbre is reminding producers who received a prevented planting “top-up” payment that they must purchase federal crop insurance for the next two crop years.

“It shouldn’t be an issue for most producers who got the top-up because they were getting crop insurance payments to start with so obviously, they’re using the program,” he says. “The only thing that comes into play with our big sales closing date on March 15 for our spring planted crops is farmers have to have that 2019 premium paid by then to remain eligible to buy crop insurance for 2020.”

Barbre says if the premium isn’t paid…“Then they go on an ineligible list and they won’t be able to buy crop insurance for 2020 and because they can’t meet the commitment they would have to pay the top-up back,” he says. “Producers who can’t get that premium paid by those sales closing dates have the option of going to their crop insurance agent and requesting a written payment agreement where they can stretch those payments out over however many months the company agrees with and it becomes a requirement that they make that payment on the date it’s due.”

Barbre says he wants producers to be aware it’s a critical time and to remain eligible to buy crop insurance in 2020 and 2021.