Crop Insurance Today February 2015 - (Page 22)

CropInsurance TODAY VisitWebsite ag-risk.org NCIS' Agricultural Research & Technology Program 90 Years Ensures Accurate Loss Procedures By Drs. Mark Zarnstorff and James Houx, NCIS Have you ever wondered how crop loss adjustment procedures are developed? The answer is two-fold. Some crop loss adjustment procedures are legacies of the National Crop Insurance Association (NCIA), a predecessor organization to NCIS. These procedures, most based on research dating back to the early 1900s, were often the result of collaboration between private insurance companies and NCIA. Having been integrated into the "modern" MPCI and Crop-Hail Loss Handbooks, these procedures have been used by adjusters for the last 30 years. Since the formation of NCIS, updates to the loss adjustment procedures have originated from the Agriculture Research program at NCIS. Our agriculture researchers are continually striving to define the impacts of crop damage to improve adjustment procedures that more accurately reflect losses in an ever-changing agricultural landscape. How the Research Program Works The NCIS research program is led by Drs. Mark Zarnstorff and James Houx and, much like the historical program, focuses on designing experiments that result in data used to create accurate, consistent and timely loss adjustment procedures. Ideas for research typically come from company field adjusters, claims supervisors, and university 22 FEBRUARY2015 researchers that do not think that current procedures accurately and consistently assess crop damage. In some cases, such as that of a new insurable crop, there may not be any adjustment procedure at all. And in others, such as changes in production practices, a new procedure may be necessary to account for changes in harvesting methods or equipment, or cultivation techniques that fundamentally alter how the crop is raised. All research projects are discussed and approved by either the NCIS Crop-Hail or Multi-Peril Policy, Procedure and Loss Adjustment Committees and are multi-year in duration and include multi-locations. Each year, approximately six new projects are ap- proved for study. In 2015, NCIS researchers began four new projects to address canola pod filling, corn green snap, chickpea pod and seed numbers and cotton node removal and defoliation. When combined with existing projects, NCIS will have 17 research projects ongoing across 13 states from Washington to South Carolina, and from Saskatchewan, Canada to New Mexico. Most of the NCIS-sponsored research projects produce results that are incorporated into the private Crop-Hail industry loss adjustment procedures. However, when appropriate, NCIS will share results with the USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) for possible incorporation into the Federal multi-peril crop insurance loss procedures. Defoliation research on canola. http://www.ag-risk.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crop Insurance Today February 2015

A Work in Progress
Whole-Farm Revenue Protection
2014 A Year of Involvement
NCIS Agricultural Research & Technology Program
Crop Insurance In Action: Art Wiebelhaus, Fordyce, Nebraska
In Memory Mike Felt
In Memory Irl Oaks, Jr.
Insurable Crops Location & Plans
FFA Proficiency Winner

Crop Insurance Today February 2015