Flooding and excessive rainfall in parts of the country have resulted in a significant amount of prevented planting claims under Federal crop insurance. Given these extraordinary weather events and the need for animal feed, flexibility around the use of a cover crop planted on prevented planted acreage for haying, grazing and cutting for silage, haylage and baleage has become necessary.

A cover crop is defined in the policy as a crop generally recognized by agricultural experts as agronomically sound for the area for erosion control or other purposes related to conservation or soil improvement.

Currently November 1 is used as a reference point throughout procedure for cover crops. For example, a cover crop planted after the Late Planting Period (LPP) for the prevented planted crop may be hayed, grazed or cut for silage, haylage or baleage after November 1 and receive a full prevented planting payment. If the cover crop is hayed, grazed or cut for silage, haylage, or baleage before November 1, or otherwise harvested at any time, the prevented planting payment will be reduced by 65 percent.

For the 2020 crop year only, the November 1 date in procedure, as it relates to haying, grazing, or cut for silage, haylage, or baleage will be replaced with September 1 for the following counties:

North Dakota: Barnes, Benson, Bottineau, Cass, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Grand Forks, Griggs, Kidder, La Moure, Mcintosh, Nelson, Ramsey, Ransom, Rolette, Sargent, Sheridan, Steele, Stutsman, Towner, Traill, and Wells

South Dakota: Beadle, Brown, Brule, Campbell, Clark, Codington, Day, Edmunds, Faulk, Hand, Hanson, Hyde, McPherson, Marshall, Potter, Roberts, Sanborn, Spink, and Walworth.

DISPOSAL DATE:
December 31, 2020