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NCIS Regional/State Crop
Insurance Committees
These committees meet to discuss the events
of the previous year and plan for loss adjuster
schools in the year ahead. In addition to the
policy and procedural updates provided by NCIS
staff during the committee meetings, highlights
from the 2021 virtual events include:
* The East/Southeast Committee heard a legislative
update from Stephen Frerichs, Rain and
Hail, L.L.C.
* Dr. Emerson Nafziger, University of Illinois,
discussed the results of ongoing second loss
research and Illinois corn and soybean agronomic
management at the Illinois-Wisconsin
meeting.
* Dr. Ronnie Schell, Texas A&M AgriLife, updated
the Southwest Committee on the completed
NCIS grain sorghum research results.
Tom Zacharias (right), president of NCIS, was interviewed by several farm broadcasters during the
National Association of Farm Broadcasting's Trade Talk session in November.
Topics during the July conference included
handbook and policy updates, changes to the
livestock programs, actuarial updates and CropHail
changes. Special guest, Karis Gutter, Corteva
Agriscience, discussed the importance of equity
within the agricultural and crop insurance industries.
RMA presented updates on contract
deadlines, HIP-WI, the Pandemic Cover Crop
Program, and diversity initiatives.
The Spring 2022 conference covered updates
on Whole Farm Revenue Protection, Enterprise
Units, Crop-Hail program filings, updates to
sunflower seed, dry beans and coarse grains crop
provisions, hemp, and pecan tree policy modifications.
Information about the new Micro Farm
plan was also presented. NCIS Board Chair, Kendall
Jones, ProAg, thanked the participants for
their continued hard work and commitment to
providing excellent service to insureds in 2021.
Crop Insurance and FSA
Program Interactions
Webinar
NCIS and RMA presented a Crop Insurance
and Farm Service Agency (FSA) Program Interactions
special topic webinar on October 6. The
increasing interactions between crop insurance
and FSA programs continue to spark questions
from farmers, agents, and AIPs. The webinar
discussed some of the elements and processes in
crop insurance that have roots at FSA.
8 FIRSTQUARTER2022
Participants learned some basic elements of
FSA farm structure, Form FSA-578, and FSA
base acre processes. Next, presenters reviewed
specific program and process interactions, including
FSA's Dairy Margin Coverage and DRP
or LGM Dairy crop insurance, FSA cover crop
reporting and the crop insurance Pandemic Cover
Crop Program purpose and mechanics, and
FSA ARC and PLC elections and enrollments
and the impact of a farmer's ARC/PLC participation
on crop insurance endorsements. The webinar
concluded with a detailed review of crop insurance
data shared with FSA and its use in FSA
programs.
NCIS Committee
MeetingsNCIS
regional/state
committee
* A representative from the Jackson RMA
Regional Office discussed crop expansions
and HIP-WI statistics with the Gulf States
Committee.
* Attendees at the Kansas-Oklahoma Committee
meeting received an update on actuarial
changes, written agreements, interplanting
versus overseeding/interseeding, and the
program performance
assessment process
from the RMA Topeka and Oklahoma City
Regional Offices.
* Dr. Mark Licht, Iowa State University, discussed
the 2020 derecho and management
strategies for 2021 at the Iowa and Nebraska
Regional/State Committee meetings.
* Mel Machado, Blue Diamond Almonds, discussed
almond production with predictions
of future growth and pricing at the Arizona-California-Nevada
meeting. He also spoke
about the relationship between bees and almonds
and the importance of that relationship
to both species.
annual
meetings always lead off the year, with the first
meeting typically starting just a day or two after
New Year's Day. NCIS standing committee
meetings follow in April and early May, with
the Program Development Committee meeting
towards the end of that month to review any
recommendations that come out of the regional/state
and/or standing committee meetings.
These meetings are integral to the success of the
industry, and we are grateful for the time and
energy the people involved in these committees
dedicate to them.
* Dr. Tom Collins, Washington State University,
provided a presentation on research on
smoke from wildfires and its effects on grapes
at different growth stages to the attendees at
the Montana and Northwest joint committee
meeting.
NCIS Standing Committees
The seven NCIS standing committees meet
after the regional/state committees wrap up their
annual meetings. These committees review recommendations
made by the regional/state committees
and either recommend they be moved

55-1

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