Farmers in County St. Mary’s and southern Maryland, as a general rule, or the purchase of new insurance policies harvest or adapt those who have insurance agents do business here in the concern that culture Plant is also suffer again this year as last years of drought.
“We saw about 10 to 15 percent of farmers coming to buy crop insurance programs,” said Sharon Ambrose, with a customer service representative River Tapphanock insurance in the country, Va., which sells programs’ local crop insurance. “It’s County St. Mary’s and it is everywhere. ”
Ambrose, said the increase is atypical because farmers buy crop insurance not to renew every year.
The 2007 drought severely affected than last summer, Martin O’Malley Dir caused to ask the federal government to declare 22 of the 23 courts of Agriculture disaster zones.
The federal government has welcomed the proposal and began harvesting damage disaster rewards to farmers have crop insurance, which is signed by the federal government.
So far, so Amy Farrell, director of the local service firm St. Mary’s and Calvert counties, farmers in the two districts have received more than $ 900000 for harvest, they have suffered losses.
The Agency is still paying benefits for losses the farmers of their pastures during the last drought as part of their compensation program for livestock, “said Farrell, and there is no relief in sight.
“We are always low rainfall this year,” said Farrell. “And some of the ponds is not yet complete.”
In addition, those without insurance programs harvest last year and was therefore not entitled to payments of any disaster relief, did not want to risk losing this year, when the harvest has suffered again.
Some farmers lost as much as 90 per cent of their crop loss during the last summer, according to county agricultural officials.
“After 2007 it is a whole new ball game,” said Ambrose. “They are only a little fear, overlooking the comparison, they are 2008 to 2007.
Brad Reeves, Reeves insurance in Leonardtown, said it is too late for farmers without crop insurance to protect their crops resort, the deadline for the purchase of this policy was a March 15.
But they can, but as there is a policy for their crops. The deadline for this policy, September 30, he said.
Reeves said crop insurance programs was “quite expensive” and that farmers are often not choose to pay premiums cover more than 75 to 80 per cent of their crops. “It is too expensive to go beyond,” said Reeves The County Times.
But programs crop insurance is not a panacea for farmers, because they only for their operating costs and profits, they may not have lost, “said Reeves.