Crop Insurance Today Third Quarter 2022 - 15

time, RMA is focusing on soybeans and grain
sorghum and will finalize requirements before
the November 30 contract change date.
We welcomed newly hired Michael Heiserman
who oversees outreach activities and national
educational activities. He announced national
projects focusing on financial planning, and climate-smart
ag for SDFR and various other outreach
initiatives.
Administrator Bunger opened her presentation
saying thank you to the group for their attendance
and " the attention you will be giving
to the training material. " In her previous role as
an agent, she looked forward to update training
and sharing new crop insurance information
with farmers. She was very complimentary to
the RMA staff for their dedication and time in
developing products. Bunger also stated that diversity
is important to her, and she and her staff
will continue to develop partnerships to look at
underserved crops and communities. She also
recognized RMA, AIPs, and FSA for their assistance
in the recent rollout of the Emergency
Relief Program (ERP). Although not without
some hiccups, she stated it was quite successful
and communicated farmers' appreciation of how
quickly it was rolled out.
Upon conclusion of Administrator Bunger's
remarks, Chris Aulbur, RMA Senior Actuary,
and Steve Peterson, FSA Associate Administrator,
covered details on the ERP Phase 1 payments.
Both speakers emphasized the quick implemenIndustry
training benefits everyone
at a company level and crop
insurance agents by providing
information to ensure accuracy
and consistency for farmers.
tation of ERP payments using existing RMA data,
a simplified payment calculation and less farmer
interaction for disbursement. Acceptance of
payment requires purchasing crop insurance of
at least 60 percent coverage level or higher; other
conditions may apply.
NCIS staff Therese Stom, Loretta Sobba, Chris
Lindsey, Mollie Dvorak, Chris Fisher, Ashleigh
Russell, Don Hutsell, and Lynnette Dillon presented
updates to handbooks, Crop-Hail, actuarials,
as well as policy and endorsement changes.
With the uptick in premium, livestock plans continue
to be popular, and Jessica Trites Rolle presented
updates to all three plans. She also covered
Technical Topics including the EDAS decommissioning
project and the PASS implementation for
livestock processing.
As a follow-up to the UDGO (Unit Division
Grid Option) Specialty webinar in April, Jeremy
Fredrickson and Andrew Kowalski, RMA, provided
a recap of this option for land in Georgia,
Texas, and Maine that was not surveyed under
the U.S. Public Land Survey. This alternative will
allow farmers to establish optional units using a
grid developed by RMA. Farmers may elect this
option by the earliest sales date for Category B
crops with additional coverage. Different scenarios
were shown, demonstrating grid basics and
identifiers.
Other RMA presentations included the Direct
Marketing/Vertically Integrated Changes
Panel featuring Pam Bollinger and Sandy Sanchez
as speakers. Mandy Welton outlined the
implementation of Same Year Production Reporting
emphasizing that work will continue between
RMA and AIPs to finalize procedures and
data processing for both 2023/2024 reinsurance
years. Cody Lovercamp and Amanda Hancock
discussed annual forage issues and identified areas
of concern. The RMA/NCIS workgroup will
continue their work on annual forage and policy
updates are expected for the 2024 crop year. Isac
Shelton presented standards for RMA external
handbooks. Users will notice standardized format
and font, with significant additions highlighted
in turquoise. In addition, handbooks will
be designed to be viewed online with hyperlinks.
Survey results from the conference showed
participants appreciated the choice to attend virtually
or in person and information on upcoming
procedural changes such as SYPR. Industry
training benefits everyone at a company level and
crop insurance agents by providing information
to ensure accuracy and consistency for farmers.
Thank you to all members who participated and
the speakers who prepared and presented on
these important topics.
Participants at the Train-the-Trainer Conference.
CROPINSURANCE TODAY®
15
Crop Insurance Today Third Quarter 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crop Insurance Today Third Quarter 2022
