The flash drought in Wisconsin has our attention. And it’s got phones ringing in the crop insurance offices.
Jenny Brown is a Multi-Peril Specialist with Rural Mutual Insurance overseeing acres across the state primarily in corn, soybeans, alfalfa and wheat. She helps answer some of the common questions you may have about late emergence and replanting from an insurance standpoint.
“Some of the biggest questions right now revolve around replant and drought and what are the options depending whether or not that crop came up or based on poor plant population,” she says. “It’s very case by case, farm by farm basis.”
Some considerations are:
- Is the seed just sitting there?
- Has it germinated, but died?
- Is some of that seed going to germinate if we get rain?
“For those who have crop insurance, the best thing to do is to talk to your crop insurance agent so you can walk through the best options on that case by case basis,” Brown says.
She says another consideration is what you’re using that crop for, such as for feed or cash crop.
“If someone needs feed, they might be able to switch from corn to something else: soybeans for forage… wheat,” Brown says. “If you’ve got flexibility where you’re not planning on feeding it, that’s where walking through your scenarios with your agent is going to make the most sense.”
In terms of regions of the state that have been hit worse than others, she says it’s spotty. It depends on who did get spots of rain and what the soil type looks like. She’s also noticed that tillage and planting depths have made even a single field spotty with crop emergence and growth.
Brown reminds farmers to be aware of replant/late plant deadlines which vary by commodity and county.
“I know it looks bad, it feels bad. But we’re so early in the season to say (if it’s a total loss). At this point, we may still get rain, there may still be some production out there,” she says.
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