Crop Insurance Deadline Nears for Illinois Wheat Producers

The USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) reminds Illinois wheat growers that the final date to apply for crop insurance coverage or for current policyholders to make changes to their existing policy for the 2023 crop year is the sales closing date of Sept. 30.

Federal crop insurance is critical to the farm safety net. It helps producers and owners manage revenue risks and strengthens the rural economy. Producers may select from several coverage options, including yield coverage, revenue protection, and area risk policies.

For producers without insurance, contact a crop insurance agent to get information on coverages, options, and premium cost. For producers who have coverage, this is the time to review your policy with an agent to make sure it meets your needs.

One option added last year was the Quality Loss Option. This is an option you may elect to improve your Actual Production History (APH) for years in which you suffered a quality loss. The Quality Loss Option must be elected by the sales closing date of September 30. When elected, the quality loss will replace post-quality adjusted production with the pre-quality adjusted production for any year the insured filed a Notice of Loss. For more information on this and other crop insurance options, contact your crop insurance agent.

RMA is authorizing additional flexibilities due to coronavirus while continuing to support producers, working through Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) to deliver services, including processing policies, claims and agreements. RMA staff are working with AIPs and other customers by phone, mail and electronically to continue supporting crop insurance coverage for producers. On farmers.gov, you can find more information on USDA's response and relief for producers and use other tools and resources.

Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers and online at the RMA Agent Locator. Learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov. If producers have additional questions, they can contact RMA's Regional Office in Springfield at (217) 241-6600.