(Falls City, NE), March 4, 2015 –The Executive Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Richardson County, Shawna Mitchell, urges producers who want to purchase coverage through the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) to do so before the sales closing date of March 15, 2015.

NAP provides financial assistance to producers of noninsurable crops when low yields/grazing loss, loss of inventory or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters including drought, freeze, hail, excessive moisture, excessive wind or hurricanes.

In order to meet eligibility requirements for NAP, crops must be noninsurable, commercially-produced agricultural commodity crops for which the catastrophic risk protection level of crop insurance is not available.

According to Mitchell, FSA policy has changed - for the 2015 crop year, producers in Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas who annually plant crops used for mechanically harvested livestock feed, can purchase both NAP coverage at the catastrophic level or higher (“buy-up”) and Rainfall Index – Annual Forage Insurance plan coverage offered through Risk Management Agency (RMA); however if a NAP payment and indemnity benefit are payable, the producer must choose. The producer cannot receive benefits under both.

The Agricultural Act of 2014 (the 2014 Farm Bill) allows producers to choose higher levels of NAP coverage. Previously, the program offered coverage at 55 percent of the average market price for crop losses that exceed 50 percent of expected production. Producers can now choose higher levels of coverage, up to 65 percent of their expected production at 100 percent of the average market price. It is important to note that the higher coverage is not available on grazing crops.

The following crops in Richardson County have a NAP application closing date of March 15, 2015: Spring Seeded Forage, Grass for Forage or Grazing, Spring Seeded Vegetables, Alfalfa and Mixed Forage Crops.

"NAP policies allow producers to protect their investment by purchasing coverage for noninsurable crops," said Mitchell. "Natural disasters are an unavoidable part of farming and ranching and FSA programs like NAP help producers to recover when they experience a loss."

Eligible producers must file the application and pay a service fee by the March 15 deadline. Producers also pay a fixed premium for higher coverage. Beginning, limited resource and underserved farmers may request a waiver of the service fee and a 50 percent premium reduction when the application for coverage is filed.

For more information on NAP, service fees, premiums and sales closing dates, contact the Richardson County FSA office at 402-245-2401 ext. 2 and visit the web at www.fsa.usda.gov/nap.