The corn crop in the Midwest is going through serious drought condition.  Effect of drought can manifest in various forms and symptoms, but in the end will drastically reduce yields depending on the stage of crop and duration and severity of drought.  Please keep 'drought effects' in mind  as you are evaluating crop liability claims in the field.  See the attached document extracted from Pioneer.com

As the clouds rolled into the Sioux Falls, South Dakota area day turned to night and the wind increased to 120 MPH.  Thousands are without power and the damage is still being discovered in this area.  Bins, barns, and homes are damaged.  Everyone should be seeing claims from the area in the coming weeks.  Thank you to Troy Burns for sharing these photos with the ACA.

Higher prices of everything in farming will make the 2022 crop year interesting to watch.  Curious what the planting report looks like? Click to read the full article

Russia and China combined account for 40% to 45% of total global phosphate production.  Prices are soaring across the country with anhydrous ammonia prices at $1500 per ton. Click to read the full article.

Equipment failure or malifunction claims create a new checklist of questions to ask the insured. The checklist to prepare the planter for the field should include:

1) Correctly connect hydraulic hoses.
2) Update computer software.
3) Synchronize tractor and planter.
4) Calibrate planter systems.
5) Flush hydraulic systems.
6) Test-run high-speed seed meters.

Make sure you ask if these ideas were completed prior to planting the first acre.

Today, the Iowa Senate approved a bill that allows producers to sell raw milk. This bill will now move to the House for consideration. This senate bill legalizes what consumers are already doing, said state Sen. Tony Bisignano. Currently, there are multiple states that already allow on-farm sales of raw milk.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has now been confirmed in Iowa, Kansas and Illinois.  If you're working poultry claims, biosecurity is going to be tighter at poultry facilities. Click here to read the full article.

With the chemical shortage, applicators may be looking at ways to improve chemical use for 2022.  As we prepare for the claims season, make sure that we are getting detailed spray records early for the application in question.  Additionally, it's important to mark the field surrounding with the crop and see if you can determine what was sprayed on them as well.  

Working Ag claims, we have seen a handful of hemp claims from the liability side. RMA-USDA has developed and is now offering pilot hemp insurance. It’s an APH (Actual Production History) plan which will have county averages and pricing which can assist on the crop liability claim settlement process. Use the link below to see where it’s available. Click here for more information.

Over the last several years, the agriculture insurance industry has seen a growing number of crop liability claims.  Each claim requires researching whether the applicator is spraying on label for the chemicals in the sprayer.   John Deere has developed targeted spray technology for chemical application.  The big question is, will this technology reduce or increase crop liability claims in the near fututre. Click here to read the entire article.

Russia and Ukraine are important suppliers for many fertilizer products and important minerals that American farmers rely on.   The low-cost and high-volume producer of most major fertilizers in the world is Russia.  Therefore, trade sanctions by the U.S. and other countries could greatly impaact the supply and price of fertilizer for 2022. Click here to read the complete article.