01/20/06 All those R.M.A. insurance deadlines

Producers in the Pacific Northwest are getting out their scorecards. It may be the only way to keep track of upcoming U.S.D.A. Risk Management Agency multi-peril crop insurance deadlines. Even Jo Lynn Seufer of R.M.A.'s Regional Office in Spokane says it is a challenge keeping the dates, deadlines, and programs straight, as there are several coming up. For example, January 31st is the final date for producers currently enrolled in the Adjusted Gross Revenue Lite policy in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska to submit a required document to continue A.G.R. Lite insurance. But Seufer says it's not the only deadline on that date. SEUFER: I also want to share that January 31 is also the final date to obtain or change Adjusted Gross Revenue pilot. It's only available in a few counties throughout Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. So it's a little bit of confusion there, a lot of dates to look and remember. Then the day after, producers of a couple of specialty crops have deadlines if they want insurance. February First is the final date to obtain or change insurance for spring planted onion crops in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. SEUFER: It also applies to the cabbage pilot crops in Oregon and Washington. Then comes March 15th and there is yet another A.G.R. Lite policy deadline to be aware of. The confusion lies in that it is for new A.G.R. Lite policy holders who do not have existing policies at the moment. And it does apply again for every county in R.M.A.'s four state service area. But if that wasn't confusing enough & yep, there is another crop insurance deadline to keep in mind. SEUFER: March 15th is also the final sell closing date for our spring seeded insurance crops, which are primarily our vegetable crops here in the Pacific Northwest. Even Seufer admits all of these multi-peril crop insurance policy deadlines can be a bit confusing. So where does any one with questions go for some clarification? SEUFER: Our products through U.S.D.A. Risk Management Agency are all delivered by a multi-peril crop insurance agent, a private crop insurance agent. Additional program details can be found out through them. And of course there is always a phone call to the R.M.A. Regional Office in Spokane at (509) 353-2147. There is also the U.S.D.A. Risk Management Agency website at www.rma.usda.gov.