The Risk Management Agency (RMA) contracted for an independent evaluation of the prevented planting policy provisions and payment factors in follow up to an Office of Inspector General audit. The contractor reviewed the production costs for all crops eligible for prevented planting coverage and estimated the share of those costs that are generally incurred in a prevented planting situation. The contractor used pre-planting cost information from the Economic Research Service’s Agricultural Resource Management Survey, State extension budgets, and other data to determine the prevented planting costs and final prevented planting coverage levels. The results compared to current prevented planting coverage levels led the contractor to recommend that certain changes to the prevented planting coverage levels should be considered by RMA.
The contractor’s recommendations are: 1) Continue to use the same methodology for prevented planting coverage; 2) Adjust the prevented planting coverage levels; and, 3) Differentiate the coverage levels geographically for onions by establishing two prevented planting coverage levels.
This report is published on the RMA website, for public review and comment at: www.rma.usda.gov/Topics/Publications.
The public review and comment period has been extended from March 31, 2015, to April 15, 2015. Comments can be submitted via email to rma.pp.lah@rma.usda.gov or by mail to Director, Product Administration and Standards Division, Risk Management Agency, United States Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 419205, Kansas City, MO 64133-6205. RMA will accept comments regarding the results of this contracted study until close of business April 15, 2015. All comments received on or before April 15, 2015, will be considered and evaluated. No changes to the prevented planting coverage levels will be considered for the 2015 crop year.