The Crow Wing/Cass/Aitkin/Itasca FSA Office announces deadlines approaching for producers to purchase Non-insured Assistance Program (NAP) coverage for year 2015 on the following crops:
• March 16 for vegetables, grain crops and perennial forage pasture.
• May 1 for ornamental nursery crops.
The 2014 Farm Bill made changes to NAP. NAP is for crops for which crop insurance is not available and is administered by USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). NAP crops include a lot of specialty crops and several that are popular in central Minnesota, such as rye, pasture, strawberries, several fruits and vegetables, and even honey production.
The biggest change with NAP is with the coverage level. In previous Farm Bills, the NAP coverage was for only one level and it was similar to the catastrophic level of crop insurance. Now there are four levels of buy up available, in addition to the CAT level of coverage.
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The CAT level of coverage is still available at a rate of $250 per crop, with a maximum of $750 per county for multiple crops. CAT coverage is at 50 percent of the yield, and 55 percent of the price. Buy up levels start by increasing to 100 percent of the price, and then also increasing the yield at 5 percent increments from 50 percent up to 65 percent of the yield. The only crop not eligible for buy up is pasture.
For more information, contact the Crow Wing/Cass/Aitkin/Itasca FSA office, 7118 Clearwater Road, Baxter, at 218-829-5965, ext. 2; or visit the agency's website at www.fsa.usda.gov .
