Agroinsurance

USA - Navajo nation president extends crop insurance amid New Mexico drought

Outgoing Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye has extended the tribe’s crop insurance amid ongoing extreme drought conditions. The Gallup Independent reports Begaye signed the insurance contract earlier this month. He says it will protect the tribe’s pastures, rangelands and forage acreage from losses due to scant rainfall. Federal drought monitor maps show much of the reservation remains under exceptional or extreme drought, the two worst conditions. The crop insurance is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Pasture, Rangeland and Forage Insurance Program. Source - https://www.insurancejournal.com

India - Saffron production declines as Govt fails to provide irrigation

The untimely snowfall that Kashmir witnessed last week diminishes the hopes of saffron growers in the South Kashmir’s Pampore by damaging the last batch of flowers, drastically reducing the overall production. Saffron growers usually pick three-four batches of flowers in one season. “The harvest season has ended and we have not received flowers equivalent to the first batch,” Abdul Hameed, a saffron grower said, adding if the decline continues with the same pace there would be no traces of it in the next decade. The saffron growers blamed the Government for the decline in the crop as they allegedly failed to set up irrigation system under National Saffron Mission. The irrigation system consists of laying the water supply pipes and installing the sprinklers and the system was being set up to manage the drought issues affecting the area. But the failure of authorities to complete the project has resulted in the drastic fall of the production over last two-three years. As per the official records, production in 2016 decreased from 4.2 kilogrammes per hectare to 1.4 kilogrammes per hectare. Experts said that the climate variations have led to prolonged dry spells in the post-monsoon period over the last three years. The post-monsoon period starts from the month of October and lasts up to early December and its during this time the saffron needs precipitation. “It needs water in early October and after December,” a grower said, adding the climate remained dry during this time for last few years. The rainfall deficit has directly affected crop production. In 2012, the year precipitation decreased, Mohammad Ramzan sold his produce to a local trader for Rs 4.3 lakhs. “From that time production has come down drastically. In the last two years, the production would at least allow us to bear labour costs. But this year we won’t receive anything.” However, to mitigate the losses, the Government planned to install a sprinkling system of irrigation but the project is yet to be completed with the Department of Agriculture and MED blaming each other for failure. Executive Engineer MED, Abdul Rasheed, when contacted said that the Agriculture Department was not ready to take over the bore wells the department has completed. “At least 75 bore wells are complete and ready to be used but Agriculture Department is showing reluctance,” he said. In last nine years, Government has drilled nearly 90 bore wells needed for the irrigation of saffron fields but a majority of them lay defunct. Officials in Agriculture Department said that the mission envisaged establishing 109 bore wells with 100 per cent project support. However, authorities have managed to run a few bore wells. In order to increase saffron production and to bring more land under saffron cultivation, Government of India sanctioned an ambitious Rs 400 crore National Saffron Mission in the year 2010. The scheme was launched by the Centre in partnership with the State with the aim of raising production from 3 kg to 5 kg per hectare but even after nine years, the scheme is yet to make an impact. Majid Ahmad, a saffron grower, said that thousands of growers who are cultivating saffron on over 3000 hectares of land would have availed the irrigation facility and it would have also doubled the production. “It would have doubled the production but the authorities have failed to provide the irrigation facilities when growers need it,” he said. Castigating the Government over its failure to enable the irrigation facilities, he said: “It’s total failure on the part of Government that has inflicted huge losses on the growers due to their poorly managed irrigation facilities. The irrigation system is in place but it is poorly managed,” he said, adding that plenty of irrigation wells have been dug but authorities have failed to put them to use. Source - http://www.dailyexcelsior.com

USA - Alabama farmers fight to salvage crops damaged by Hurricane Michael

Farmers across Houston County spent the summer preparing for what they expected to be a busy fall thanks to a "bumper" or larger than expected cotton crop. Then came Hurricane Michael. "We didn't expect this because like I say, when it hits land on the coast about 90 miles from here it gets weak here (in Gordon) and this storm...it never weakened," said farmer George Jeffcoat, whose family has farmed in Houston County and the surrounding area for more than a century. Hurricane Michael flattened fences and destroyed thousands of acres of timberland. Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) declared Geneva, Pike, Barbour, Henry and Houston counties as primary natural disaster areas. It means farmers in those counties now are eligible for emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Some crops in the region didn't fare better than others. Jeffcoat said cotton bolls blown off their stems by Michael's winds weren't able to be harvested. The results were significant. In some fields where Jeffcoat expected to harvest 1200-1500 pounds of cotton, the yield was only 100 pounds. "It's nothing I can do about it. You'll lose some on cotton but not that much." Farmers have spent the five weeks since Hurricane Michael's landfall salvaging what they can. Some like Jeffcoat have crop insurance which reimburses them for a portion of their losses. To add insult to injury, He said rain the last two weeks has forced him to harvest his peanut crops later than expected. "It's not the end of the world. I've had droughts before and losses and in farming. You just start over again next year." Source - https://abc3340.com

Africa - Impacts of drought leave 30,000 people vulnerable in Botswana

At least 30, 000 people in Botswana have been left vulnerable to the impacts of climate change-induced drought that affected the southern African country between 2014 and 2017, a senior government official said Wednesday. Thato Raphaka, the permanent secretary in Botswana's Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism Ministry made this revelation in his speech at the high-level national breakfast meeting in Gaborone, Botswana's capital city. The meeting was held in preparation of the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change scheduled for Katowice, Poland early next month to finalize the rules of the implementation of Paris Agreement on climate change. "An estimated 500,000 livestock deaths and over 30,000 people were left vulnerable to the impacts of the drought between 2014 and 2017. The droughts are closely related to the ongoing climate change in the country," said Raphaka. In the last decade, available reports have suggested that climate change has led to about 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars in disaster losses in developing countries resulting in the number of people affected by natural disasters doubling from 102 million in 2015 to 204 million in 2017. According to Raphaka, the number of food insecure population is at 27 million in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region alone because the regional bloc suffered the worst drought in 35 years caused by the El Nino phenomenon. "The devastating negative impacts of climate change continue to weigh heavily on the vulnerable communities," he said. As such, Raphaka said strategic interventions targeted towards sustainable production and consumption to keep the planet at a safer level and help realize the Paris Agreement should be a matter of priority to all. The long term goal of the Paris Agreement makes provisions for limiting global temperature increase to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels this century while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius through transparent and ambitious emission reductions. Source - http://www.xinhuanet.com

New Zealand - Central Otago frost

Central Otago winegrowers and orchardists are feeling "positive" about the upcoming season and are pleased to have dodged a bullet in the form of a once in a lifetime frost. Central Otago Winegrowers Association president James Dicey said a "huge and highly unusual" frost throughout Central Otago on October 13 could have been catastrophic but ended up causing "very little damage" to the grapes. Extremely dry air conditions at the time of the -5oC frost meant there was a "freeze" rather than a frost, Dicey said. The phenomenon had been "totally, 100% unheard of" for at least 60 years, but the unusual nature of the conditions meant there was very little damage and viticulturists had "dodged a bullet", only losing about 5% to 10% of grapes overall. However, because indications had already been for high yields, the eventual harvest might still end up not being affected, Dicey said. "We had an amazingly hot summer last year ... and we’re coming in with a high potential crop load [for this summer]. If we have good flowering of fruitset in the first two to three weeks of December, we shouldn’t have any yield losses on balance." Some orchardists have lost 10% to 20% of their cherry crop because of the October frosts, but the resulting wider spacing of cherries on branches means the fruit may grow bigger, so tonnage could be about the same as last season. Source - http://www.freshplaza.com

Spain - Valencian citrus growers, on alert due to flooding

Citrus producers are concerned about the threat of the "pixat" and about the risk of mandarin skins being affected by the excess water; a result of the latest rains. In fact, the harvest has been delayed due to the flooding of fields in the Region of Valencia. The Valencian Association of Agricultural Producers (AVA) has pointed out that the citrus varieties that are now at the optimum point of ripeness could suffer fungal problems due to the excess water. The accumulation of water could also cause root asphyxiation in citrus and kakis, according to the general secretary of La Unió de Llauradors i Ramaders, Carles Peris, who reported that the harvest of citrus, kakis, vegetables and tiger nuts will have to be delayed, given the flooding of the fields. According to Peris, the appearance of the "pixat" will depend on how the weather conditions develop in the coming weeks, because if high temperatures and humidity are recorded, the problem will only get worse, while low temperatures and dry weather could help mitigate or slow down the problem. Nevertheless, the rains of recent days will be beneficial for the late varieties which are harvested from January, with both sizes and calibers expected to improve. Both agrarian organizations already have evidence of damage to infrastructures, specifically rural roads and walls, which is preventing access to the fields. In fact, in recent days, AVA has received four or five reports of flooded fields in La Safor. However, the same sources have highlighted the positive impact of the rains in the cleaning of trees, the filling of aquifers and on the pastures for livestock. AVA and La Unió will wait for the effects of the rains to be assessed before determining whether there will be any crop losses. Source - http://www.freshplaza.com

India - Untimely rain damages grape crop in Sangli

The grape crop over 195 hectare across seven talukas of Sangli district has been badly hit owing to untimely rainfall since the last two days The district administration on Tuesday carried out a survey of the damage incurred and found that grape crop in Tasgaon, Palus, Khanapur and Atpadi talukas has been affected. The survey report claims that farmers will have to face losses since moisture in unripe grapes will lead to poor quality produce at the end of the season. Also, waterlogged fields will damage the roots of the plants and hinder the process of nutrition uptake - necessary at this stage for growth. An official of Sangli district administration said, "We have initiated the process to search for names of farmers who are registered with Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Those registered can get compensation according to the quantum of the losses." He added, "Expecting rainfall for next few days, we have initiated the process of counselling through experts from National Research Centre For Grapes in Manjri, near Pune, so that adequate steps can be taken by the farmers to protect their crop. Along with grapes, banana crops have also been damaged." The untimely rainfall led to inundation of the farms. Sugarcane cutting has been stopped and it has also affected the jaggery making process. The Kolhapur district administration has not initiated any survey to estimate primary losses as they are awaiting orders from the state government. However, an official said, "The rain are beneficial for rabbi crops as the long dry spell has led to decrease in the soil moisture content. In case of sugarcane, the untimely rain does not cause much damage as we observe forhorticulture crops." Meanwhile, the north Maharashtra region has received rain for two consecutive days. Grapes in this region too took a beating. Talukas like Niphad, Dindori, Nandgao and Sinnar in Nashik district, known as the grape belt, received rain on Tuesday. "Some rain was expected in the city and in northern parts of central Maharashtra on Tuesday, as a trough had formed over this region and parts of Marathwada. The rain is expected to recede over the next 24 to 48 hours, as the trough weakens," said Arvind Shrivastava, a senior scientist at IMD. Source - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

USA - Emergency declared in Vermilion Parish for soybean farmers

The Vermilion Parish Police Jury has declared an emergency in the parish for soybean farmers. Vermilion Parish relies heavily on agriculture. With the extended rain hurting many farmers around the parish, soybean farmers are unable to sell their crop because it was destroyed. Wayne Touchet, Police Juror representing District 5 in Vermilion Parish, says, "The long period of rain has greatly reduced the income of the agriculture in Vermilion Parish so that's why we filed the declaration first for the soybean farmers which is to try to shine a light on our delegation who represents us in Washington where they can try to get some assistance for our farmers in Vermilion." Touchet says the rainy conditions have not only affected soybean farmers. He also says the tariffs imposed on soybeans have slowed the buying process down and diminished the value. "There's not really... no fix for this. The farmers have to rely on their crop insurance. Crop insurance pays up to 50% of the damage," explains Touchet. News Ten reports, "This is the first time since you've been a police juror for 15 years in this type of situation that you all have had to declare an emergency in Vermillion Parish for soybean farmers, correct?" "Correct,” adds Touchet. “We've declared emergencies in the past over hurricanes but never over extended rainfall. Never. This is the first time." News Ten reports, "In the past, FEMA has helped with state-wide emergencies, but like you said, in this type of condition, it's hard to get help, if you will?" "This is not considered a disaster because it's not a big event like a hurricane. It's just a wet period. And there's no mechanism in place for farmers to go for funding except for their crop insurance," says Touchet. Touchet adds soybeans are a secondary crop that many farmers produce as an extra income, but this year their supplemental income is totally gone because of the rainy conditions throughout this year. Source - https://www.klfy.com

South Africa - Stock theft costs billions every year

The KwaZulu-Natal government and local farmers say stock theft is costing the country, and its provinces billions of rand, and is also affecting the local agricultural economy. Police and farmers say stock theft is more prevalent in areas such as Bulwer, Ixopo, Mpendle and Mzimkhulu as well as areas bordering Lesotho, Mozambique and Swaziland. A recent study conducted by a team of academics from Unisa found that there were more than 29,000 cases of stock theft reported in SA in the last financial year. Willie Clack, an academic at Unisa, told Business Day that stock theft resulted in a loss of about R1.3bn to the farming community in that year. Clack also runs the website stocktheftprevent.co.za to alert farmers and the police about hot-spots and the modus operandi of the stock thieves. He said these figures show a sharp rise in comparison to a study they did in 2012, which found that stock theft had resulted in the loss of R486.6m in the period under review. Subsistence farmers are affected and some communities are engaging with authorities on the problem. Angry community members in the stock theft hot-spot of the Harry Gwala region, in the Midlands, recently met officials from the provincial department of community safety to find legal means and ways of preventing cattle, sheep, goats and pigs from being stolen. Worsening situation Clack said the situation is worsening, and joint efforts by the farmers and the police are failing to reverse the scourge. “The latest figures show that stock theft is rising sharply in the country and people steal these animals to support a lifestyle — such as drugs and the high life. So we cannot stop stock theft completely but farmers can reduce it by branding their animals, counting daily and securing their premises. “What we must also remember is that the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape are the most affected in the country and the patterns there, too, differ. In the Eastern Cape, more sheep are stolen and fewer cattle. In KwaZulu-Natal it is the exact opposite, more cattle are stolen and less sheep,” Clack said Mluleki Mntungwa, spokesman for KwaZulu-Natal department of community safety some communities used cattle and other livestock as wealth to feed their families and a means to help fund the education of their children. “Livestock is crucial in rural communities as it forms part of their wealth and stimulates the local economy. Thousands of animal are stolen in the province and nationally. These huge numbers of stolen animals impacts negatively on the agricultural sector,’’ he said. Mandla Buthelezi, of the National African Farmers Union of SA told Business Day that in the past few months there has been a spike in the number of farmers who have had their livestock stolen. “These figures are frightening — no wonder some people resort to taking the law into their own hands. Our members near the borders of Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique are the worst affected. One of our members, a retired teacher who is now a farmer, took his retirement [money] and bought herds of cattle. He reported recently that 20 of these cattle have been stolen by brazen stock thieves,” he said. Captain Rassie Erasmus, of the SAPs stock theft unit, said many court cases are lost due to insufficient evidence, incomplete statements or disputes regarding the positive identification of stolen livestock and the ability to prove ownership. Source - https://www.businesslive.co.za

New Zealand - Compensation court win for farmer after sheep 'savaged' by dogs[:ru]N

A dog owner has been ordered to pay reparations following an attack on a North Otago farmer's sheep six months ago. Chris Roberts, a farmer in Windsor, inland from Oamaru, was forced to shoot two dogs who were attacking his hoggets and cross-bred lambs, resulting in 14 being euthanised. The Waitaki District Council released a statement on Tuesday saying the owner of the dogs, Tainui Mahutu, had been successfully prosecuted last week and ordered to pay reparations. Roberts said he was still reeling from the $2000 loss. However, he said the financial cost of losing 14 sheep was not the worst of it. He said the stress of having to carry the surviving, terrified sheep away from the scene after witnessing the dogs maul his livestock was "much worse". Extra workload also came from taking party in carrying out a prosecution, he said. Waitaki District Council environmental services manager Jason Evered said it had been an unpleasant experience for all involved. "I ask anyone with a dog to properly control it when around livestock." The Waitaki District Council says Mahutu pleaded guilty and ordered to pay $1800 to Roberts. Roberts said it's up to owners to stop dogs wandering. "Dogs will do what dogs will do," he said. "This is not something I want anyone else to go through, but it won't be the last time. "There are people out there who just shouldn't own dogs." Evered said owners are responsible for registering their dogs, as well as ensuring their dogs are under control or contained at all times. Source - https://www.stuff.co.nz

India - When perennial crops fall prey to nature’s fury

The impact of the cyclonic storm Gaja, particularly on perennial crops such as coconut in the Cauvery Delta region, appears insurmountable. Coconut farmers do not see light at the end of the tunnel at this juncture as more than 80 per cent of the trees, many over 20 years old, have fallen flat. Further, as coconut is not a seasonal crop, and most farmers in the Delta region had inherited the holdings from their forefathers, the crop is not covered under any insurance policy. The fear of a life-time loss therefore looms large among the coconut farmers, as they cannot visualise replanting of trees in the near future. Apart from replanting, the gestation period, they say, could be another long wait before they see revenue from their holdings. Pradhan Mantri's Fazal Bima Yojana (crop insurance scheme) incidentally provides cover only for seasonal crops and not perennial crops. A cross section of farmers that this correspondent could reach said “they have lost everything – home, cattle and all.” Damage worse than Vardah Department experts said that the impact of the landfall was far more severe than Vardah, which hit select districts in the State in 2016. “Gaja has impacted the entire Cauvery Delta region severely damaging agricultural crops such as coconut, banana and sugarcane besides standing crops like paddy. The damage has been extensive in the Pudukottai districts - Alangudi, Aranthangi, Peravurani and Pattukottai coconut belt.” While the extent of the damage could not be assessed at this point in time, the devastation has left the victims speechless and many are not sure when life would return to normalcy. People in and around Pudukottai voiced fear of further disruption in rescue operation as the the Met department has predicted more rains in the coming days. Destruction to crop and animal particularly in the Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Pudukottai belt is said to be huge. Almost five days after the storm, many of the remote pockets in Pudukottai area continue to remain cut off with no power or water. The Chairman of the Coconut Producer Company in Thanjavur, Kalai Selvan said that more than 80 per cent of the palms in the region were uprooted, affecting the livelihood of the small and marginal farmers. Initial estimates show that around 75 lakh trees were damaged either fully or partially in the gale winds. “We have asked the Coconut Development Board to take up the matter with the Union Agriculture Ministry to enable us get the maximum compensation. The crop loss estimated by the state government was around ₹3000 crore. But is it going to take years to recover from the damage,” he said. Coconut palms uprooted The Coconut Development Board has meanwhile estimated the loss of coconut palms to 18,100 hectares against 56,000 hectares in the four regions. The production per hectare in Thanjavur was 18,372 nuts, Nagapattinam (10,170/ hectare), Thiruvarur (18,440/hectare) and Pudukottai (11,855/hectare). All these figures are much higher compared to the national productivity average of 10,803/ hectare. Rajeev Bushan, Director, Coconut Development Board, Regional Office, Chennai said that the farmers were demanding compensation between ₹20,000 to ₹25,000 per tree, as in the case of the package given to farmers who had surrendered their land for the development of the Chennai-Salem road project. “We have communicated all the data to the head office in Kochi for further action. We are awaiting a directive,” he said. Tamil Nadu, which has the third largest area-under-coconut after Kerala and Karnataka, is the second largest producer of the nuts due to higher yields. Tamil Nadu tops the yield chart with an estimated 14,655 nuts per hectare, according to provisional estimates for 2017-18 released by the Agriculture Ministry. India's coconut production during 2017-18 stood at 24,378 million nuts from an acreage of 20.98 lakh hectares. Source - https://www.thehindubusinessline.com

USA - Intelligent sprayers poised to transform nursery industry

Producers of landscape trees, shrubs, vines and perennials, all of which are known as nursery crops, are poised to adopt an industry-wide change that will benefit all of society. Researchers with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture are among the agricultural scientists to help test a newly developed technology that will allow producers to use significantly reduced amounts of pesticides to produce their crops. The technology involves revolutionary new sprayer technology that utilizes a laser, sensors and variable-rate nozzles along with a complex algorithm that allows the sprayer to "see" a plant, detect its size, shape and density and then apply just the right amount of pesticide needed in real-time. Called intelligent spray technology, nursery owners can soon purchase equipment that can reduce their pesticide costs by as much as $230 per acre of production per season. Better yet, the technology is already available as a retrofit to their existing spray equipment, thus reducing initial costs to employ the technology. Not only will intelligent spray technology save producers thousands of dollars, it will reduce the amount of future pesticides applied across the environment by untold amounts. Nationally, nursery production contributes more than $4.2 billion to the economy. "This is a great example of multistate and multidisciplinary research that is leading to transformative changes in agriculture," says Amy Fulcher, an associate professor in the UT Department of Plant Sciences. Fulcher's area of expertise is sustainable ornamental plant production and landscape management. Along with David Lockwood, a professor in plant sciences, Fulcher spearheads UTIA's participation in this USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture effort which is made possible through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative. Work on the first of two grants began in 2009, with the second grant funding research from 2015 - 2020. When completed, UTIA's efforts will have amounted to nearly $435,000. Also participating in the study are Lauren Fessler in the UT Department of Plant Sciences and Wesley Wright in the UT Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science. Scientists from other states with large nursery, fruit or nut production industries, including The Ohio State University, Oregon State University, Clemson University and Texas A&M University, are also involved in the project. Heping Zhu, USDA-ARS, is coordinating the overall project. In recent studies applications made by the intelligent sprayer in April, May and June, as trees became increasingly more dense, reduced pesticide volume by 70, 66, and 65 percent compared to a 50-gallon per acre application. Although the growing season has come to a close for 2018, plant production and maintenance continues year round. "When the plants are dormant we see magnified savings," says Fulcher. The research indicates that during dormant oil applications one-fifth to one-eighth the volume of pesticides are applied using the intelligent spray technology. A stated goal at the outset of the project was to reduce overapplication and uncertainty associated with current pesticide delivery systems used in specialty crop production. Additional results from testing the technology indicated that drift from pesticide applications can be reduced by as much as 87 percent and spray loss to the ground by 63 percent to as much as 93 percent, all without losing pesticide efficacy. In Tennessee retrofitted sprayers are being tested at Hale and Hines Nursery in Warren County and Oren Wooden's Apple House in Bledsoe County. "Seeing the technology in action is really interesting," says Fulcher. "Every time I demo it for groups of Extension agents or growers, immediately they are quiet and start videoing it with their phones. I have literally heard a gasp from a crowd of nursery producers when they saw the cloud of pesticide emerge from a traditional airblast sprayer and move across the field compared with the visibly much lighter, more targeted application from the prototype sprayer." Nursery producer James Hines agrees. "Every time I look back and see the tips snapping on and off, I think it is the coolest thing ever! It's probably saved us 60 percent on chemicals with as good or better control. It hits every plant and nothing else," he says. Smart Guided Systems, a precision farming supplier, was recently licensed to commercialize the technology and is taking pre-orders from producers for retrofit kits that will be available in February. Fulcher believes the new spray technology has implications beyond nursery production. "I really believe the technology is going to revolutionize pesticide application across agriculture," she says. Source - https://www.eurekalert.org/

Canada - 10 percent of P.E.I potato crop not harvested; farmers expect govt payouts

A tough growing season could result in some payouts for lost potato crops, says Prince Edward Island Agriculture Minister, Rob Henderson. Henderson said last week that about 10 per cent of the Island’s 85,000 acres of planted potatoes have not been harvested due to poor weather conditions. “Obviously, it has been a very challenging harvest season. We’ve had rain just about every second day and we’ve had extreme wind conditions and from that perspective, farmers are going to be challenged,” said Henderson. Henderson said a little more than 90 per cent of the province’s potato crop is under crop insurance programs implemented by both the provincial and federal government. He said there are some farmers who are not covered through crop insurance but they are covered through the AgriStability Program, which saw an extended application deadline this year. Henderson said, while farmers can choose their amount of coverage on crop insurance, it is still too early to say. “At this point in time, it’s a little too early to tell what kind of numbers we’re talking about as far as crop insurance and what kind of pay-outs are going to be occurred, but we do anticipate there will be pay-outs,” said Henderson. Source - https://potatonewstoday.com

USA - Orient man must pay $40K after federal crop insurance fraud conviction

An Orient, Iowa man convicted of crop insurance fraud has been sentenced to three years of supervised release, with four months of house arrest in addition to paying over $40,000 in fines. Carl Jeffrey Campbell, 71, of Orient, Iowa was sentenced on November 16, 2018. Campbell pleaded guilty to the offense on July 6, 2018. According to the DOJ, in 2014, Campbell obtained crop insurance for two farms from an insurance company that was insured by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, which is a government corporation. “The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation reimburses insurance companies for the payments made to policyholders under the Federal Reinsured Crop Program” The DOJ says, Campbell, “crop shifted”. Crop shifting occurs when a farmer underreports production in one field in order to reach the percentage of loss required to receive an insurance payout from their crop insurance policy. Campbell “shifted” production from one farm he owned to another by reporting that several thousand bushels of grain were harvested from one farm when he knew that those bushels were actually harvested from his other farm. According to the DOJ Campbell also hid production by not reporting to the USDA or Federal Crop Insurance Corporation several thousand bushels of corn sold in his son’s name. He then received insurance payments fraudulently. As a result, Campbell has been sentenced to: “Three years of supervised release, with four months of home confinement for making a false statement in connection with federal crop insurance. Campbell was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund, and $32,440 to the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) as restitution. Campbell was also ordered to serve 160 hours of community service.” Source - https://wqad.com