The 2019 harvest is one that will be remembered for years to come. Record precipitation in September and October lead to a long, difficult harvest. For many, crops were left in the field. Unfortunately, weather conditions this spring have been less than ideal, and the battle continues. Now that the calendar is to the middle of May, 2019 harvest continues while simultaneously planting the 2020 crop. Prevent plant (PP) has become a serious possibility, and a very hot topic.
Every prevent plant situation is unique to your farm, so communication is very important. The final planting date, unit structure, base acres, planted acres, MPCI levels, and PP buyup options all have an impact. Be sure to touch base with your local AgCountry insurance specialist to make sure claims are turned in on time and for a review of your situation.
Once final planting dates are reached, claims should be reported within 72 hours of the decision to stop planting. Please remember that crops can still be planted after those dates, but MPCI coverage is reduced by one percent per day. Final plant dates depend on your location. For example, AgCountry’s territory includes parts Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin, and dates could be different depending on which state you live in. The final plant date for corn is either May 25 or 31.
The prevent plant guarantee will be different for everyone based on APH and decisions made at sales closing time. The formula for calculating a PP claim is: APH x MPCI level x price election x PP level. The PP level varies by crop. Here are the most common: Corn 55%, wheat/soys 60%, dry beans 50%. The PP level can also be bought up by 5%, but that must be done by sales closing.
Prevent plant eligibility has many factors that come into play. PP has to be general to the area, and the crop must have been planted, harvested and insured in one of the last four years. One question that is unique for this year is whether land with standing 2019 crop is eligible for a prevent plant payment? The answer is generally yes. This assumes all guidelines are met, it’s the same operator as 2019, and it was left due to the fact that it was mechanically unable to be harvested. Added land on this same ground would be a stickier situation and is being considered on a case-by-case basis.
Choosing optional units (OU), or enterprise units (EU), can make a difference when it comes to PP. The guarantee calculation is the same, and for both types 20 acres or 20% of the unit need to be PP in order to qualify for a claim. When using OU, each section will need to meet the 20/20 rule in order to be eligible for a payment. Meeting the 20/20 rule on prevent plant is one of the benefits of EU, as all PP acres of that crop in the county can be aggregated together.
Prevent plant can be a very complicated and a farm-specific issue. Please feel free to contact the AgCountry office nearest you.
Good luck in 2020 and we are here to help.
