The perfect pumpkin ... and the not-so-perfect growing season
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The one sure sign I have to rely on telling me harvest season is here is when my daughters begin asking if they can go to the pumpkin store. The pumpkin store is really a farm that raises pumpkins, among other crops. However, nothing gets the attention of a young child around Halloween like a pumpkin. On a previous visit to the pumpkin farm, they were able to not only stand beside pumpkins larger than they were, but they also were able to see acres of pumpkins still in the field. I have to admit, my daughters picked out some very nice pumpkins, even though this has not been an ideal year for crop production.
After experiencing a summer that was wetter and cooler than usual, it just seemed an early frost was inevitable. Turns out, the arrival of freezing temperatures was the only thing that stuck to a somewhat normal schedule. The cold temperatures swept into Bureau County about the same time they always do, however, this year the crops were not at their normal mature stage when it dipped below freezing. When this happens, it causes quality or quantity problems whether you are talking about corn, soybeans or pumpkins.
In years past, depending on the severity of the crop loss, and depending on how widespread the loss condition was, Congress sometimes authorized disaster benefits to help farmers affected by quality or quantity crop losses.
With the passage of the 2008 Farm Bill, an effort was made to provide a more stable disaster assistance program that would be available to every producer with qualifying losses. The idea was to have a disaster program already in place that did not require Congress to pass special legislation to implement. The result of that effort was the establishment of a Disaster Relief Trust Fund. This fund is used to provide assistance through the implementation of five separate disaster programs.
One of the five disaster programs is the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program. The SURE Program is designed to supplement current risk management tools such as crop insurance and coverage under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. Potential eligibility for SURE benefits is triggered when a secretarial disaster declaration has been issued for a county, (or a contiguous county) or the actual production on the farm is less than 50 percent of the normal production on the farm. When determining production for a producer, all crop acreage in all counties that a producer planted or intended to plant for harvest for commercial sale or on-farm livestock feeding, including native and improved grassland intended for haying, must be considered. The SURE Program is not intended to replace crop insurance on insurable crops or NAP coverage on uninsurable crops, because crop insurance coverage is required to potentially receive benefits through the SURE Program.
My daughters would be quick to tell you their pumpkins are just perfect, but farmers in the county know their crops may be less than perfect with the wild weather we have experienced this year. The SURE Program may offer additional benefits to farmers who suffer losses and carried crop insurance. Enrollment is anticipated to begin this November for producers with qualifying losses, beginning with the 2008 crop year.
Brad W. Powelson is the CED of the Farm Service Agency in Bureau County.
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