| The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, was enacted June 18, 2008. The act created several new disaster programs under the title, "Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance". To be eligible for these programs producers must purchase at least CAT level crop insurance for all insurable crops and/or NAP coverage for non-insured crops. Sales closing dates for CAT and application closing deadlines for NAP have already passed for all insurable and non-insurable crops for 2008.
Since the 2008 Act was enacted after the application periods had closed for those programs, producers who did not have coverage could not comply with this requirement in order to be eligible for the new disaster programs. Therefore, the 2008 Act authorizes a waiver that allows producers to pay a fee, call a "buy-in" fee to be eligible for this new disaster assistance.
The buy-in fee for 2008 eligibility only for either the catastrophic risk protection insurance (CAT) or NAP is $100 per crop but not more than $300 per producer per administrative county, or $900 total per producer for all counties.
Producers who meet the definition of "Socially Disadvantaged", "Limited Resource" or "Beginning Farmer or Rancher", do not have to meet the Risk Management Purchase Requirement and, therefore, are not required to pay the buy-in fee.
The buy-in form must be completed and fees paid by September 16, 2008. Payment of the fees will allow producers to be eligible for benefits for loses under the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payment Program (SURE), Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), Tree Assistance Program (TAP, and Emergency Assistance Livestock, Honeybees and Farm Raised Fish Program (ELAP). FSA is working to develop detailed regulations and software for these programs and sign-up for the disaster programs for 2008 will be announced at a later date.
If you have questions, please contact the Gilmer-Calhoun County FSA Office at 201 E. Main St., Rm. 122, Glenville, WV 26351; 304-462-7171, Ext. 2.
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