Crop Insurance Today First Quarter 2020 - 20

Participants at the Risk Management Workshop in Alabama gather for a group photo.

(RMA) Davis Regional Office (RO) presented
an update on crops, including cherries and almonds in California, and the Pasture Rangeland Forage program in Arizona. Dr. Anita
Oberholster, University of California-Davis,
presented information on smoke-taint in
wine grapes and explained why it is such a
complex issue.
* Montana/Northwest (Idaho, Oregon, Utah,
Washington)- The Billings RMA RO representatives covered topics such as insuring
Fava/Faba Beans, Triticale, and Winter and
Spring wheat in dual counties. Guest speaker Sam Belanger, a local producer of hemp,
made a presentation on the production practices and challenges of growing hemp.

Standing Committee Meetings &
Conference Calls
NCIS has seven active standing committees
that focus on various topics and issues relating

to the Federal and Crop-Hail programs. The
committees meet in person one to two times a
year and several hold monthly or as-needed
conference calls. Below are highlights from the
2019 meetings:
* MPCI Underwriting & Operations- The
Committee had discussion with RMA on
the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill,
perennial crops, unit boundaries, state cover
crop subsidy programs, and the Acreage Crop
Reporting Streamlining Initiative (ACRSI).
There was also discussion on the Information Technology Modernization accounting
system changes and a review of pending 2020
policy and procedure handbook updates.
* Communications & Outreach- The Committee discussed the new Crop Insurance 101
microsite, Crop Insurance 101 video, 2019
farmer testimonial plans, and additional social media 201 training for members. Staff
provided updates on program outreach activ-

ities including included recent grant proposals and the NCIS 1890 scholarship program.
* MPCI Policy, Procedure, and Loss Adjustment- There was a discussion on a variety
of topics throughout the Committee's two
in-person meetings and monthly conference
calls including Midwest flooding issues, sugar
beet crop provisions, prevented planting, and
other issues facing the industry.
* Crop-Hail Policy Procedure and Loss Adjustment- During their spring meeting the CHPPLA Committee reviewed recommendations
from the regional/state committees, discussed
form changes for the 2020 crop year, and reviewed policy language for new hemp and
corn extra harvest expense endorsements. At
their fall meeting, discussion centered on updates to corn, lentils, and tobacco flue cured
loss handbooks, hemp plant growth and production practices, and 2019 research results.
* Technology and Information Processing-Topics discussed at 2019 meetings included an
update on the NCIS IT systems, Crop-Hail
issues including 2018 processing results,
hail modernization, and proposed changes
for 2019.
* Crop-Hail Actuarial and Statistical- The
Committee meets twice each year to review
results of Final Average Loss Cost (FALC)
filing analyses and other Crop-Hail issues. In
2019, the Committee discussed the industrial hemp filing, statistical reporting, and presented a proposed two-phase data reporting
modernization project. They also reviewed
2021 FALC filing methodologies for several
states, 2020 Crop-Hail filing status, production plan methodology, and data reporting
modernization.
* Training and Education- The T&E Committee met in advance of the November Trainthe-Trainer Conference to discuss alternative training formats for future November
conferences.

Claims Manager Conference

CIRB Emerging Leaders program attendees included: Bret Keeler, ARMtech; Kevin Boeckenstedt,
Crop Risk Services; Ryan Kramer, Farmers Mutual Hail; Amy Zeik, Rural Community Insurance
Services; (Tom Zacharias, NCIS); Cole Patrick, COUNTRY Financial; (Sherri Scharff, NCIS); Bryce
Benson, American Farm Bureau Insurance Services; RJ Brinkmeyer, Farmers Mutual Hail; and,
Tracy Klever, Farmers Mutual Hail.

FIRSTQUARTER2020

Claims managers, marketing staff, and trainers attended the 2019 Claims Manager Conference in January in Overland Park, KS. The conference focused on updates to handbooks and
research as well as AIP staff training. Participants
previewed new research and program integrity videos and were encouraged to use them for
training purposes. A legal panel discussion was
led by NCIS General Counsel, Chuck Lee, with

Crop Insurance Today First Quarter 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crop Insurance Today First Quarter 2020