2026 Fall & Spring Claims -

In our perfect world everyone would buy crop insurance, raise bumper crops, sell them for record profits and adjusters would spend their summers at the lake. Last year we had everything but the record profits. This year Mother Nature threw a wrench in our plans and reminded us why we buy insurance. Most of you have talked with an adjuster this summer and I’d bet they weren’t at the lake. In times like these nobody is having fun, but there are a couple of things that you can do to make the process smoother for everyone.

1. Communicate With Your Agent – If you plan to do anything with a standing crop besides harvesting for grain, call your agent before starting so we can put you in contact with an adjuster.

2. Report Claims ASAP – Once you are confident that you will have a production claim notify your agent, we do not have to wait for harvest to be completed to turn in claims.

3. Collecting and Dividing Proof of Yields – Provide the adjuster with your proof of yield as soon as possible after harvest. To avoid agents influencing claims, RMA would like the insured to be the one to request proof of yields from elevators and to be the one that splits out the individual fields. After you’ve collected and organized them, we can forward them on to the adjuster for you.

4. Watch for the Adjusters Call– Adjusters will reach out as soon as possible. If an in-field appraisal is needed, you should hear from them within 48 hours of notifying your agent. For production claims it may be within a week depending on claim load. If the assigned adjuster has an out-of-area number, we will let you know. If they leave a voicemail please call back asap.

 

 

Double Crop Acre Eligibility –

Your number of fully insurable double crop acres are determined by the year that you planted the most acres back to another crop following wheat out of the last four.

For Example: If you double cropped 100 acres in 2024 but planted 150 this year, you will be fully paid the wheat claims on those 100 acres, and the following crop will be fully insurable like normal because you have 100 acres of history. For the remaining 50 acres, you could have elected to take the full wheat payment and not insure the second crop, or you could have taken 35% of your wheat indemnity and fully insured the second crop. If you took the 35% payment and fully insured the second crop, you now will choose the larger of either the remaining 65% of your wheat claim or the full payment for the second crop. If you take the full second crop payment you will not receive the rest of your wheat claim, but you also won’t have to pay the remaining 65% of the wheat premium.

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Wheat Interest Deferral –

 RMA has waived all wheat interest accrual until October 31st, 2026. After that interest will begin accruing as usual.

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ARC/PLC Elections -

For 2026 FSA pushed back the deadline to make elections until sometime this fall. The extra time gives us the chance to see where county yields and prices will likely be. At this time, it seems most likely ARC will trigger a payment in 2026 for all crops. In 2027, be prepared to make ARC/PLC elections by March 15th.

Beginning Farmer and Rancher Discount –

Eligibility has been expanded to your first 10 years of farming. Your first two years you will receive a 15% premium discount, 13% discount in year three, 11% in year four, and 10% for five thru ten. Contact your agent to see if you’re eligible, we will need a signed application before wheat sales close (September 30th).

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Utilizing Area Based Policies to Protect Revenue (ECO/SCO) –

With local crop conditions and the global market, it is looking like customers who bought up additional coverage through ECO and SCO made a good investment. For policies with dryland acres, I am expecting that some counties may receive at least an ECO payment for corn and wheat. While soybeans and milo may trigger for both. Irrigated policies are dependent on the impact of the extreme temps and where harvest prices set. If you tuned out your agent’s sales pitch or need a refresher, ECO/SCO functions like ARC-CO as it allows you to protect a percentage of expected county revenue but pays off actual planted acres rather than base. If county revenue is less than 95% of expected ECO will pay, if less than 90% SCO will pay. With the higher probability of a claim comes a higher premium cost, to offset that RMA increased the premium subsidy from 65% to 80% in 2025. ECO & SCO policies pay out in summer of the following year.

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2027 Wheat Sales Closing -

We need to have all applications for 2027 wheat signed by Sep. 30. Reach out to us or your agent if you would like to look at quotes for adding ECO/SCO, adjusting coverage levels, or changing unit structure or your updated APH’s.

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One Farmer One File –

USDA has partnered with Palantir to streamline communication and the flow of data between federal agencies (FSA, RMA, NRCS) to help catch fraud and waste in taxpayer subsidized programs. I expect that the change will cause some short-term hardships as FSA offices adjust to the new program and procedures but in the end should simplify and speed up interactions with the various agencies. With the increased flow of data between the agencies, it will become even more important that all information reported for government programs is consistent and accurate. We will continue to keep you updated as we learn more.

 

2027 Fall Planted Acreage Reporting -   

Your 2027 wheat acres will be the first to be reported through the new One Farmer One File interactive digital program, rather than traditional paper maps in office. The new program will use geospatial mapping for the farm numbers associated with your operation. You will go through the digital map, click on planted fields, select the appropriate crop and input planting dates and then submit. This process will help the flow of data between us as your agency and the FSA offices. Ultimately it should lead to less discrepancies between insured acres and what is reported on your 578. We will pass on info as we learn more in the future.

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Pasture Rainfall and Forage (PRF)-

Is a rainfall product that uses area data to indemnify producers for lack of rainfall on any perennial forage (pasture, or hay). Growers select at least four two-month intervals to protect the periods when they believe rainfall is most important for forage production.

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Livestock Forage Program (LFP) –

Pasture acres in Harvey, Kingman, McPherson, Rice, Reno and all counties to the west have qualified for 5 months’ worth of drought relief payments. To be eligible to receive payment all grazed acres must be turned into FSA by the December 15th acreage reporting date and the landowner must have an active AD-1026 on file. Payment rates will differ depending on the forage payment factor, species, and animal size/maturity. All grazing animals qualify (Cattle, Sheep, Goats, Buffalo and even Equine). If you’ve had to haul feed to grazing livestock, you are eligible to receive $3.75 per loaded mile. If you’ve had to haul water due to drought to livestock you may be paid $0.11 per gallon. Call your local FSA office with questions or to apply, the application deadline is March 15, 2027.

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Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) -

LRP is a flexible policy that allows producers to hedge against cattle market downturns at a subsidized price. Cattle may be price protected from conception to their terminal end point. LRP is subsidized the same as MPCI crop insurance with 90-95% policies being our most popular. With indemnity being triggered by market movements rather than individual sales, cattle may be marketed up to 60 days before or after the planned end date or retained and still be eligible to receive an indemnity. The flexible marketing window allows you to best manage the current market and environmental conditions. LRP premium is not due until the end of the policy so cattle should either have been sold in a profitable market or will have the premium paid by the coming indemnity.

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Thank You –

If you are still reading this, we appreciate you investing your time to learn more about your crop insurance policy. We know that most of you did not get into production agriculture to learn about the federal government’s ever-changing rules and regulations. But we feel that the more informed you are as the insured the better we as the agent can protect the goals of your operation. Renewing your policy without making any changes is a fine strategy if you understand how recent changes may increase or decrease your degree of risk. Your current policy may not provide the protection that it once did, and there may be better options that will not significantly impact your premium cost.

 

2027 Spring in Person Updates -

Spring update meetings will kick off mid-January 2027 and will wrap up early March. We look forward to getting everyone together to share a meal and anything that you need to consider before locking in spring policies. Watch your mailbox for invites around end of the year.

  

We appreciate the opportunity to help tailor the risk management strategy that best serves your operation. If you have any questions or want to bounce ideas off someone, please reach out, crop insurance is what we talk about all day. Or let us know if you would like an agent to stop by for an in-person visit, we are more than happy to get out of the office and have the chance to see your family’s operation.

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Nate Pitts Agency Manager – 620-747-2924