Georgia: Final and Late Planting Dates for Crop Insurance

With the way the weather has been this year, there are still a good many acres that still need to be planted. Below are some words from UGA Economist, Nathan Smith, on final planting dates for peanuts and other crops.

The USDA NASS Crop Progress report for Georgia shows peanuts 85% planted for the week ending June 1. This is slightly ahead of last year and the 5-year average (81%). While weather has allowed a lot of producers to catch up, the progress figure indicates some acreage will be planted after the final planting date for full coverage of crop insurance.

Peanuts have two final planting dates that counties fall into for Georgia. The first date is May 31 for a group of counties in the northern region of East Georgia. The second date is June 5 for the rest of the counties. These final planting dates were revised for the 2011 crop year extending the final planting date by five days for most counties. Below is a revision of documentation I sent out in 2011 to county agents.

Final Planting Date (FPD)

The Final Planting Date is the last date a producer may plant and the acreage be eligible for full crop insurance coverage (receive the 100% of Production Guarantee or Revenue Guarantee). The producer is not required to plant after the FPD but may do so at reduced coverage of 1% per day through the late planting period.

Georgia Final Planting Date

Late Planting Period (LPP). If the producer so elects, planting may continue during the late planting period at reduced coverage of 1% per day. Planting may continue even after the late planting period and coverage will be at the Prevented Planting guarantee (50% of the full season guarantee for cotton and peanuts and 60% of the full season guarantee for grain sorghum and soybeans).

Georgia Late Planting Period

Farmers can still plant peanuts after June 15, but the guarantee drops to 50 percent for peanuts and cotton. If the producer is unable to plant by the final planting date, the producer may file for prevented planting” and must do so within 72 hours after the Final Planting Date. If the producer is unable to plant during the Late Planting Period, again the producer must file for “prevented planting” within 72 hours of the late planting deadline. Filing for prevented planting requires documentation on the part of the producer.

The insurance company will usually try to deny the claim if neighbors were able to plant but that doesn’t mean it should be denied. If conditions such as too wet or drought prevent a producer from planting that should be documentable.

Producers are required to report actual planted acreage by July 15 to crop insurance agent to keep coverage. They must provide a copy of the sheller contract to insure at a price higher than the established price. A contract with a higher price can be used to increase the guarantee by up to 120% or a max of $638.40 per ton this year. The established peanut price for 2014 is $532 per ton so there shouldn’t be any contracts higher than the established price unless we have a disaster this year.

This final planting date and late planting periods were checked by RMA for accuracy. If there is a question, check with your local crop insurance agent. This info was shared with Tyron Spearman and I have heard him using it on the radio and in his newsletter on peanuts.

Contact your local Extension Agent for more info.