Disaster loss coverage plan is explained

COLUMBUS – Steven Maurer, State Executive Director for Ohio’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), informs eligible
producers which may and may not suffer loss because of disaster events occurring on or before Sept. 30,
about how the 2008 Farm Bill provisions that authorized SURE will be administered for 2011 and 2012
crops.
The program was authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) to provide
assistance to producers suffering crop losses because of disasters on or before Sept. 30, 2011.
To receive SURE payments; an eligible producer on a SURE farm must have a qualifying loss.
A qualifying loss is defined as a loss of 10 percent or more on at least one crop of economic
significance because of disaster on a farm that is either:
• located in a disaster county; or
• if not located in any disaster county or county contiguous to such a county, but has an overall loss
greater than or equal to 50 percent of normal production on the farm (expected revenue for all crops on
the farm) because of disaster.
Crops are not required to be harvested on or before Sept. 30, to maintain eligibility for SURE.
For more information about the SURE program, Maurer advised producers to visit their local FSA office or
visit the FSA website at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/sure.