Connealy Insurance Newsletter| September 1, 2024 |

Serving Nebraska, Iowa & South Dakota farmers, ranchers, homeowners, commercial, business & auto lines & their families since 1986.

Everyone should have received their schedule of insurance for their MPCI and Crop-Hail policies. If you have not, please reach out and we would be happy to send another or go over them with you.

Your schedule of insurance will show you your guarantees and can also assist with keeping track of production for reporting.

Harvest Reminders:

If you are planning to cut silage, you MUST notify us prior to chopping. If you do not, this could impact your APH and lead to an unpaid claim in the event of a loss.

Keep track of your scale tickets as you will need them to report your totals at production reporting.

Premium payments:

Crop Hail 3% cash discounts were due 8/30.

Crop Hail standard due date is November 1st (Must be postmarked by October 31)

MPCI premium is due October 1st (must be postmarked by September 30th).

Please be informed that we have recently been advised that RMA will not be issuing a waiver for interest deferral of MPCI.

Therefore, spring crops with a billing date of 8/15 must be paid by October 1^st to avoid interest charges being applied.

Flooding Update

We are sending in the acres that were flooded as they come in from the adjusters. Once they are received and approved by the crop companies, they will issue a reimbursement for the acres flooded at a prorated rate. (This is for hail/wind policies only). If you have any questions, please reach out. We will keep you updated as they come in.

Margin Protection

Provides protection against a reduction in market price, an increase in input costs, and a reduction in the county yield. It is an area-based policy. Price discovery occurs between August 15th and September 14th. Growers will receive the higher of the MP or RP indemnity in the fall. Corn price as of 8/29- $4.3550; Soybeans $10.40000

Sales closing is September 30th.

To follow the daily price see below:

Margin Protection Premium Estimator

If you are interested in learning more about Margin Protection and/or ECO, please let us know. We are planning to have a luncheon regarding these topics in September.

Claims Updates:

If you would like to get paid as soon as possible for a claim, we encourage you to sign up for auto deposit with the insurance company. We had a few issues with the mail last year causing a prolonged wait for payments. If you have any questions, please let us know.

We are not allowed to be a part of any MPCI claim however if you are having any issues, need to get information to an adjuster, etc, please let us know and we can help facilitate the process for you.

Livestock Risk Protection:

Prices have been up and down this past month in the cattle market. Livestock risk protection insures your cattle against a decrease in market price below the insured's selected coverage level.

There is a subsidy based upon the coverage level that is taken from 35-55% with the premium due at the end of the insurance period.

Information needed to have a policy written and/or to quote are: type (fed, feeder, unborn, etc.); effective date; end date; number of head covered; coverage level; insured share.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

Crop Farm Bill Updates:

Native Sod is now insurable acreage in the state of NE. You are still required to prove the land classification.

FSA Updates:

Burt County FSA has approved ECP, Emergency Conservation Program, due to the flooding. Washington County did not approve the program unfortunately.

This program is for debris removal, filling in holes/gullies, and/or replacing fence. If you have damage like that then you need to take pictures and a lot of them! You cannot start any work until it is approved by each county. Contact FSA for more information.

fsa_emergencyconservationprogram_24.pdf (usda.gov)



There is a Rural Energy for America Program out with a September 30th deadline for application with FSA. This program is for those who are contemplating energy efficiency improvements or renewable energy investments to their operations or rural businesses. See below for more information.

Rural Energy for America Program Energy Audit & Renewable Energy Development Assistance Grants in Nebraska | Rural Development (usda.gov)

Through the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP), USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will cover up to 75% of organic certification costs at a maximum of $750 per certification category. FSA is now accepting applications, and organic producers and handlers should apply for OCCSP by the Oct. 31, 2024, deadline for eligible expenses incurred from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024. FSA will issue payments as applications are received and approved.

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture administers a program designed to assist beginning farmers and ranchers with accessing land and other assets necessary to get a start in the business. The program, called NextGen, utilizes income tax credits, available through the Nebraska Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Act, as an incentive for agriculture asset owners to lease to beginning producers.

NextGen (nebraska.gov)

P & C Update:

We are doing our very best to continue to provide everyone with the best coverage and pricing that we are able. The market continues to have weather events leading to an unchanging hard market. We are in this with you, hoping that the storms will pass soon.

Auto

If you are planning to do a ride share service such as lyft, uber, door dash, etc. You must notify your agent of these services. Standard auto policies exclude these services therefore leaving you open to a liability and/or comprehensive coverage loss on your own. Contact your agent if you are planning to participate in any of these services and they can add that to your auto policy.

Home

Airbnb or Vrbo might sound like a great idea to make some extra money however you must notify your insurance carrier/agent on if you are planning to do so. You must have a different policy to cover your liability and property. While these websites offer liability and damage protection, there are limits with these policies. Most of them are written with a non-admitted carrier and they exclude assault and battery, communicable disease, liquor liability and personal injury. If you are looking into this, i would talk with your agent first to make sure that you are not in a situation where you are not being covered for a loss. (The Big I, Independent Agent Magazine, 2024).

Farm/Business:

With the recent flooding and increased storm activity this year, we have seen a lot of pivot claims. We want to educate the grower on the benefits of having a stand-alone policy vs having your pivots on your farm owner policy. One of the benefits is claims.1. Having a stand-alone policy with a pivot claim, will not affect your farm policy and rates. 2. A stand-alone policy generally provides more converge, that includes flood, earthquake and replacement cost of the pivot itself. 3. It is an all-peril policy with no age restrictions for replacement cost coverage.

Health:

With open enrollment approaching, now would be a good time to review your current coverages and think about the changes that you would like to see for the next year. Open enrollment is November 1- January 15 for marketplace. Medicare open enrollment is October 15- December 7th.

Joke of the Month

The Pilsbury bunny died. The funeral will be Friday at 350 for 18 minutes.

Quinoa Unstuffed peppers

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1 pound Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

1.In a small saucepan, bring stock to a boil. Add quinoa. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed, 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat.

2.In a large skillet, cook and crumble sausage with peppers and onion over medium-high heat until meat is no longer pink, 8-10 minutes. Add garlic and seasonings; cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in quinoa.

Office News

We had fun at the Farmers Open golf outings in Oakland and Tekamah this year. It is always fun to see our local farmers get out of the field and having some fun.

Thank you to those who have submitted their arial photos! We would love to display your arial farm photos on our walls at Connealy Insurance. If you have a photo of your farm, you can email it to kiley@morethancrop.com, or stop by and we can make a copy.