DECEMBER 10 HARVESTING DEADLINE FOR INSURED GRAIN CORN
December 10, 2009 marks the end of the crop insurance period for grain corn in Vermont. If you are unable to harvest by this date due to extreme weather conditions, such as rain or snow, you may request additional time to harvest beyond December 10, 2009 by contacting your crop insurance agent.
Your crop insurance company may allow additional time to harvest when the following conditions are met:
(a) You give timely notice of loss to the crop insurance agent; and
(b) The crop insurance company determines and documents that the delay in harvest was due to an insured cause of loss; and
(c) You demonstrate to the crop insurance company that harvest was not possible due to insured causes; and
(d) The delay in harvest was not due to uninsured causes of loss, nor because you did not have sufficient equipment or manpower to harvest the crop by the calendar date for the end of the insurance period.
It is important that you document conditions for your acreage and the actions you take in order to receive an accurate claim payment if one is due. You must harvest your crop during the extension period if a window of opportunity arises. If you do not, the crop insurance company will appraise the acreage at that time and finalize the claim based on that appraisal. Damage occurring after the window of opportunity to harvest is uninsurable.
If there is significant snow cover, if the crop is under water, or if extreme wet conditions exist, the crop insurance company should not (and is not required to), perform final inspections when conditions make it impossible to obtain appraisals accurately.
If weather conditions are delaying your harvest, contact your crop insurance agent to report a loss and request additional time to harvest in order to protect your crop insurance coverage.