Time to Start Planning Crop Insurance Strategy

Time to Start Planning Crop Insurance Strategy

Now that harvest is wrapping up, it is time to start thinking about and planning your crop insurance strategy for 2017. Jason Alexander, with Farm Credit Mid-America, says the first thing you need to do is gather a group, one that includes your banker and your crop insurance agent, to review your plan. “Many times when we sit down with farmers we find little mistakes, that can add up to big costs,” he stated. “They are little things that you may not notice but when having a group review the paperwork, we can spot things that would cost you.”  He added, even if you are not a customer of Farm Credit, they will sit down with you and review your paperwork.

While crop insurance deadlines are not for a while yet, Alexander says this is the time of year to be thinking about crop insurance. He said, at harvest or just after harvest is a good time, “Don’t let things go, takes notes, ask questions — really take a hard look at the decisions you have to make about the upcoming year.”  He said it is important to consider how marketing and crop insurance impact each other.

Alexander says, in today’s economic environment, it is vital to have a 3 to 5 year plan for your farm, “We want to feel like we are a part of your operation. We are here to help you be more profitable and be here in the future to pass that farm onto the next generation.” Farm Credit has a number of financial resources that are available at e-farmcredit.com/insights.