USDA Outlines SURE Eligibility Requirements for 2011 and 2012 Crops

Ryne Norton, County USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director Ryne Norton, announced that legislative authority for the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program ends on September 30, 2011. Producers must meet specific eligibility requirements to receive SURE assistance for disasters that occur on or before September 30, 2011, and affect fall 2011 and 2012 crops.

The SURE program compensates producers for production and/or quality losses during times of disaster. Producers can apply for a 2011 or 2012 SURE payment if a crop of economic significance located in a primary or contiguous disaster county under a Secretarial Disaster Designation suffered at least a 10 percent loss because of disaster occurring on or before September 30, 2011.

Crops are not required to be harvested on or before September 30, 2011, to maintain SURE eligibility. A loss claim will only trigger after FSA determines that the loss was because of disaster occurring on or before September 30, 2011. Losses that result from disasters that occur after September 30, 2011, will not be eligible for SURE benefits.

Producers with 2011 and 2012 crops that suffer losses caused by disasters that occur on or before September 30, 2011, must also meet the following criteria:

• For insured crops, the insurance policy defines the coverage period as beginning on or before September 30, 2011
• For Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) crops, the coverage period begins on or before September 30, 2011
• The final planting date according to RMA and FSA (NAP crops only) occur on or before September 30, 2011.

Ryne also points out that, “If the crop is planted prior to September 30, 2011, but the final planting date is after September 30, 2011, the crop will not be eligible for SURE benefits.”

The sign-up period for 2011 and 2012 SURE will not begin until after the national average market prices are determined for each respective crop year, which is normally one year after the applicable crop year.  For questions regarding the SURE program, please contact the Fillmore County FSA office at 402-759-4463.

 Cover Crops Program

Cover crops will be the focus of a Wednesday, September 28 field day at UNL’s Agricultural Research and Development Center (ARDC) near Mead (1071 County Road G, Ithaca, NE). This free event will be from 1 to 5 p.m. with plenty of time for discussion and to answer your cover crop questions.

The field day will showcase 33 cover crop plots and discuss cover crop options that help build and feed the soil system. Featured cover crops include grasses, legumes, forages, brassicas, cocktail mixes, and others. While these plots were drilled into wheat residue, cover cropping options after corn and soybean harvest also will be discussed.

Speakers will include UNL Extension and NRCS no-till specialists working with cover crops and several cover crop seed vendors who will share their experiences.  Special thanks to Arrow Seed, Green Cover Seed, and Prairie States Seed for providing the seed for the plots.  Door prizes of cover crop seed will be given away for participants to try cover crops on their own farms.