Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency's (FSA) Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory or prevented planting occur...
What is Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency's (FSA) Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory or prevented planting occur due to a natural disaster.
Program Requirements
An eligible producer is a landowner, tenant or sharecropper who shares in the risk of producing an eligible crop and is entitled to an ownership share of that crop. As authorized by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill), an individual's or entity's average adjusted gross income (AGI) limitation cannot exceed $900,000 to be eligible for NAP.
Eligible crops must be commercially produced agricultural commodity crops for which the catastrophic risk protection level of crop insurance is not available and be any of the following:
- Crops grown for food;
- Crops planted and grown for livestock consumption, including, but not limited to grain and forage crops, including native forage;
- Crops grown for fiber, such as cotton and flax (except for trees);
- Crops grown in a controlled environment, such as mushrooms and floriculture;
- Specialty crops, such as honey and maple sap;
- Value loss crops, such as aquaculture, Christmas trees, ginseng, ornamental nursery and turfgrass sod;
- Sea oats and sea grass and;
- Seed crops where the propagation stock is produced for sale as seed stock for other eligible NAP crop production.
NAP provides coverage equal to 50% of the approved yield and 55% of the average market price. Additional buy-up coverage is available in increments between 50% of the approved yield up to as much as 65% of the approved yield and 100% of the average market price. Under the buy-up coverage, producers may choose to elect the Historical Marketing Percentage Option and/or the Direct Market Option. Producers may also elect the organic average market price for eligible crops under both the 50/55% coverage level and the buy-up coverage.
Producers must contact a crop insurance agent for questions regarding insurability of a crop in their county.
For further information on whether a crop is eligible for NAP coverage, producers must contact the FSA county office where their farm records are maintained.
An eligible natural disaster is any of the following:
- Damaging weather, such as drought, freeze, hail, excessive moisture, excessive wind or hurricanes;
- An adverse natural occurrence, such as earthquake or flood; A condition related to damaging weather or an adverse natural occurrence, such as excessive heat, plant disease, volcanic smog (VOG), insect infestation or;
- Any combination of these conditions.
The natural disaster must occur during the coverage period, before or during harvest and must directly affect the eligible crop.
Application Details
What is the application process for Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program?
Eligible producers must apply for coverage of non-insurable crops using Form CCC-471, "Application for Coverage", and pay the applicable service fees at their local FSA office. The application and service fees must be filed by the application closing date as established by the producer's FSA state committee.