Crop Insurance Will Cover Drought Losses

Farmers should have no worries regarding their crop insurance policy’s ability to pay, in spite of the depth and far-reaching impact of the drought that has gripped more than half of the nation’s agricultural production area this summer, Southwest Farm Press reports.

“The crop insurance industry is on the ground in the drought-stricken areas, mobilizing loss-adjuster teams,” said Thomas P. Zacharias, president, National Crop Insurance Services.

“Farmers can be assured their claims will be paid, and that the companies will move as quickly and as efficiently as possible, given the expected volume of claims, to assess damages and get indemnity checks into the hands of farmers,” Zacharias says.

Claim volume will be huge. Recent USDA crop report estimates indicated significant losses for corn and soybeans, result of the heat stress and extreme drought that covers much of the Corn Belt.

“Although this was the largest corn crop planted since 1937, production is projected to be down 13 percent, the lowest output since 2006,” Zacharias says. “Corn yields are expected to average 123.4 bushels per acre, down nearly 24 bushels from last year, which would be the lowest average yield since 1995. Soybean production is forecast to be down by 12 percent from last year, and if realized, would have the lowest average yield since 2003.”

Zacharias says most farmers in drought-stressed areas are covered by crop insurance.