Buy-In
Waiver for Supplemental Agricultural
Disaster Assistance Programs Underway
in New Farm Bill -
July 15, 2008
Submitted by Tina A. Crofford,
Program Technician Shelby County FSA
USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA)
will allow producers who would otherwise
be ineligible for the new disaster
assistance programs to become eligible
by paying a fee as required by the
Food, Conservation and Energy Act
of 2008 (the 2008 Act).
The 2008 Act requires producers who
wish to participate in the new disaster
programs to have crop insurance or
non-insured crop disaster assistance
(NAP) coverage for the land for which
assistance is being requested, and
for all farms in all counties in which
they have an interest. Since the 2008
Act was enacted after the application
periods had closed for those programs,
producers who did not have such coverage
could not comply with this requirement
in order to be eligible for the new
disaster programs. However, the 2008
Act authorizes a waiver that allows
producers to pay a fee, called a "buy-in"
fee, to be eligible for this new disaster
assistance.
Every producer whose crops, including
grazing lands, are not fully covered
by crop insurance or NAP may take
advantage of this one-time opportunity.
The buy-in fee is due no later than
Sept. 16, 2008, 90 days after the
date of enactment, as required by
the 2008 Act. Those who miss this
opportunity will not be eligible for
disaster assistance. Producers are
also reminded that the payment of
the applicable buy-in fee does not
afford the producer crop insurance
or NAP coverage; it only affords eligibility
for the 2008 disaster programs.
The crop insurance and NAP coverage
requirements will be waived in
2008 for producers who did not obtain
crop insurance or NAP coverage by
the applicable sales closing date,
if the producer files an application
for waiver and pays a buy-in fee in
an amount equal to the 2008 applicable
NAP coverage or catastrophic risk
protection plan fee for the crop or
grazing lands.
Producers who meet the definition
of “Socially Disadvantaged,
Limited Resource," or "Beginning
Farmer or Rancher," do not have
to meet the Risk Management Purchase
Requirement, and, therefore, are not
required to pay the buy-in fee.
The buy-in fee for 2008 eligibility
only for either the catastrophic risk
protection insurance (CAT) or NAP
is $100 per crop, but not more than
$300 per producer per administrative
county, or $900 total per producer
for all counties less any previously
paid fees for CAT and/or NAP.
Producers can contact their local
administrative FSA County Office to
file the application for waiver and
pay the applicable fees.
The applicable buy-in form must
be completed and applicable fees paid
by Sept. 16, 2008. Payment of the
applicable fees will allow the producer
to be eligible for benefits for losses
under Supplemental Revenue Assistance
Payments (SURE) Program, Livestock
Forage Disaster Program (LFP), Tree
Assistance Program (TAP), and Emergency
Assistance Livestock, Honeybees and
Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP).
The 2008 Act authorizes funds to
be used to make payments to farmers
and ranchers incurring eligible crop
production/quality losses under the
SURE Program, grazing losses under
LFP, livestock death losses under
LIP, and losses suffered by producers
of livestock, honeybees, and farm-raised
fish under ELAP. The 2008 Act also
authorizes TAP.
To be eligible for SURE, TAP, and
ELAP, producers must meet the Risk
Management Purchase Requirement by
purchasing at least the CAT level
of crop insurance for all insurable
crops and/or NAP coverage for non-insurable
crops. To be eligible for LFP, producers
must meet the Risk Management Purchase
Requirement by purchasing or obtaining
for the grazing land incurring the
losses where assistance is being requested,
a policy or plan of insurance under
the Federal Crop Insurance Act, including
pilot programs such as the Pasture,
Rangeland, Forage Program (PRF) or
NAP coverage by filing the required
paperwork and paying the administrative
fee by the applicable State filing
deadline. The Risk Management Purchase
Requirement does not apply to LIP.
The SURE program will be available
to eligible producers on farms in
disaster counties, designated by the
Secretary, including contiguous counties
that have incurred crop production
losses and/or crop quality losses
during the crop year. However, Congress
determined that payments would not
occur until the calculation at the
end of the marketing year.
It also will be available to any
farm where, during the calendar year,
the total loss of production on the
farm, because of weather, is greater
than 50 percent of the normal production
of the farm.
The LFP program will be available
to eligible livestock producers who
suffered grazing losses for eligible
livestock, because of drought on land
that is either native or improved
pastureland with permanent vegetative
cover or planted to a crop specifically
for providing grazing. The LFP program
will also be available to eligible
livestock producers who suffered grazing
losses for eligible livestock, because
of fire on rangeland managed by a
Federal agency, if the eligible livestock
producer is prohibited from grazing
the normal permitted livestock on
the managed rangeland.
The LIP program will be available
to eligible livestock producers on
farms that have incurred livestock
death losses in excess of normal mortality,
because of adverse weather, as determined
by the Secretary during the calendar
year, including losses because of
hurricanes, floods, blizzards, disease,
wildfires, extreme heat and extreme
cold.
The TAP program provides assistance
to orchardists and eligible nursery
tree growers who produce nursery,
ornamental, fruit, nut or Christmas
trees for commercial sale that lost
trees, bushes, or vines, because of
a natural disaster, as determined
by the Secretary.
The ELAP program will provide emergency
relief to producers of livestock,
honey bees and farm-raised fish, because
of losses from adverse weather or
other conditions, such as blizzards
and wildfires, as determined by the
Secretary.
Because Congress did not provide
a rulemaking exception for these programs,
FSA must first publish a proposed
rule seeking public comment, followed
by a final rule. FSA is working to
develop detailed regulations and software
for these programs. Sign up for these
programs is not expected to be held
until this winter. |
