Crop Insurance Specialist

Heritage Insurance Services has a career opportunity for a highly motivated and energetic individual as a Crop Insurance Specialist. The ideal candidate will have the ability to work well without supervision, pay attention to detail, adhere to timelines and regulations, and learn new concepts quickly. Previous experience in the insurance industry is a plus. Responsibilities:…
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MFP Update & Disaster Program Broad Strokes

The Market Facilitation Program 2 was initially started in Senator Hoeven’s office shortly or even before MFP 1 was released. To date, the MFP 2 has released $2.5 billion of the $14.5 billion allocated. In North Dakota this is a mixed bag with a lot of counties not accepting applications at this time, or not…
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Trigger Charts

We are in various stages of wheat harvest across the state.  Some have completed harvest, some just starting, and others are making the final push.  So far this year, we have seen scab, vomitoxin, falling numbers, sprout, and ergot. Still others are having the best crop of wheat quality they have had in years!  If…
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Quality Issues for Small Grain

We have been fielding a lot of phone calls in the past 2 weeks on quality issues in smalls grains with the ongoing harvest.  The main issues we are seeing in wheat is low test weight, high VOM and falling numbers.  All of these issues have a loss chart that applies discounts depending on the…
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Harvest Price Tracking

Harvest prices for Wheat and Barley have been tracking since Aug 1.  There are 7 days of trading left before the final prices are set.  We will post a revenue price trigger chart once the prices are finalized.  This will help in figuring revenue losses verse just production losses.
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Emergency Flood Relief – Deferral of Interest Charges on Crop Insurance Premiums

Background Farmers and ranchers are struggling through widespread severe flooding and excess moisture conditions in many parts of the nation, causing catastrophic damage to crops. Concerns have been expressed about the requirement to pay crop insurance premiums timely to avoid accrual of interest because some farmers and ranchers will not yet have received their crop…
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Cover Crop Questions

UPDATE to previous post: Cover Crops Producers affected by natural disasters who filed prevented planting claims then planted an MFP-eligible cover crop, with the potential to be harvested or for subsequent use as forage, qualify for a $15 per acre payment. Acreage of cover crops must be planted by August 1, 2019 to be considered eligible…
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Market Facilitation Update

The fall & spring of 2019 were one of the most challenging in recent history regarding uncertainty in Agriculture Policy.  The lobbying effort for the passage of the Farm Bill, the WHIP disaster approval, MFP, cover cropping changes, and trade tariffs has been challenging.  Our office has been involved weekly since January on conference calls,…
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Change to Haying & Grazing Date

WASHINGTON, June 20, 2019 – Farmers who planted cover crops on prevented plant acres will be permitted to hay, graze or chop those fields earlier than November this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) adjusted the 2019 final haying and grazing date from November 1 to September…
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Market Facilitation Program Update

There has been way too much chatter and way too many rumors and misinformation about the Market Facilitation Program that was announced.  In my previous letter, I noted the timing to be late July early August and I have attached the news release from USDA that confirms and outlines the 2019 MFP.  To say the…
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