United States 

Department 

of Agriculture A Risk Management Agency Fact Sheet 

Prevented Planting Insurance Provisions 

Flood 

Revised May 2011 Program 

Aid 2020 

Flood and Prevented Planting

Prevented planting is a failure to plant an insured 

crop with the proper equipment by the final planting date designated in the insurance policy’s Special Provisions or during the late planting period, if 

applicable. Final planting dates and late planting 

periods vary by crop and by area. Producers should 

refer to the policy provisions or contact their crop 

insurance agent for more information. 

The Crop Provisions for each crop specify whether 

prevented planting is available. Crop insurance policies with prevented planting provisions provide 

valuable coverage to producers when flood prevents planting. Because farming is complex, eligibility for a prevented planting payment must be 

determined on a case-by-case basis. However, the 

following provides a general overview. 

Prevented planting coverage due to floods, hurricanes, or excess rain that occurs during the insurance period and prevents other producers from 

planting acreage with similar characteristics, is provided for most crops. Because conditions vary significantly between geographic areas, loss determinations are based on each producer’s circumstances. Producers must first contact their crop insurance agent to report a prevented planting loss. 

Prevented planting coverage is also provided if a 

producer is unable to plant because of residual salt 

in the soil or irrigation water supply as a result of 

an insured cause of loss (such as hurricane or 

flood), as long as the event occurs during the prevented planting insurance period. Producers must 

report and document the cause of loss. Approved 

insurance providers must determine whether the 

loss is insurable and may ask producers for additional documentation from agricultural experts to 

support the prevented planting claim. 

The prevented planting guarantee for most crops is 

60 percent of the production guarantee for timely 

planted acreage (65 or 70 percent if available and 

elected by the sales closing date). For both yield 

and revenue protection, prevented planting payments are based on the projected price. There is no 

prevented planting coverage under Group Risk 

Plan (GRP) or Group Risk Income Protection 

(GRIP) insurance policies. 

Carryover and New Policyholders 

Producers who had an insurance policy the prior year (carryover policyholders) are eligible for 

prevented planting payments if the insured cause of 

loss occurred after the sales closing date for the 

previous crop year, provided insurance was in force 

continuously since that date, and all other prevented planting requirements are met. New policyholders are eligible for prevented planting payments if 

the insured cause of loss occurred after the sales 

closing date for the current crop year, and all other 

prevented planting requirements are met. 

New Policyholders 

New policyholders are eligible for prevented planting payments if the insured cause of loss occurred 

after the sales-closing date for the current crop year 

and all other requirements for prevented planting 

have been met. 

For example, the corn sales closing date for the 

crop year is March 15. An insured cause of loss 

occurs on or after March 15. For the current crop 

year, a new policyholder or a carryover policyholder could be eligible for a prevented planting payment for the current crop year. However, if a cause 

of loss that prevents planting in the current year 

occurred between March 15, of the previous year 

and March 14, of the current year, only the carryover policyholder would be eligible for a pre- vented 

planting payment. 

If a Producer Is Prevented from Planting by the Final Planting Date 

What choices do producers have if they are prevented from planting by the final planting date? 
 

 

 

 

 

Producers may: 

	 Plant the insured crop during the late planting 

period, if applicable. The late planting period is 

generally 25 days after the final planting date 

but varies by crop and area, as specified in the 

policy. For most crops, the timely planted production guarantee is reduced 1 percent per day 

for each day planting is delayed after the final 

planting date. 

	 Plant the insured crop after the late planting 

period (or after the final planting date if a late 

planting period is not applicable), in which 

case the insurance guarantee will be the same 

as the insurance guarantee provided for prevented planting coverage. 

	 Leave the acreage idle (black dirt) and receive 

a full prevented planting payment. 

	 Plant a cover crop and receive a full prevented 

planting payment (but do not hay or graze this 

cover crop before November 1 or otherwise 

harvest it at any time), or 

	 Plant another crop (second crop) after the late 

planting period or after the final planting date 

if no late planting period is applicable, or hay 

or graze a cover crop after the end of the late 

planting period or after the final planting date 

if no late planting period is applicable but before November 1, or otherwise harvest it at any 

time, and receive a prevented planting payment 

equal to 35 percent of the prevented planting 

guarantee. 

Keep Good Documents 

Good documentation is key to receiving prevented 

planting payments. Producers should work with 

their approved insurance provider to determine the 

documentation needed for their specific prevented 

planting claim. 

Payment Reductions May Not Apply

If a producer meets the double-cropping requirements specified in the policy, the 65-percent payment reduction does not apply to a prevented planting payment for the first insured crop when: (1) a 

second crop is planted; or (2) a cover crop is hayed, 

grazed, or otherwise harvested. 

The double-cropping requirements specified in the 

policy are: (1) the practice of planting two or more 

crops for harvest in the same crop year on the same 

acreage is generally recognized by agricultural experts (including organic agricultural experts) for 

the area; (2) the second or additional crops are customarily planted after the first insured crop for harvest on the same acreage in the same crop year in 

the area; (3) additional coverage insurance offered 

under the authority of the Federal Crop Insurance 

Act is available in the county on the two or more 

crops that are double cropped; and (4) the producer 

provides records showing the number of acres 

double-cropped in 2 of the last 4 crop years the 

first insured crop was planted. 

For More Information 

Prevented planting handbook: 

http://www.rma.usda.gov/ 

handbooks/25000/2008/08_25370-1h.pdf 

Agent locator: http://www3.rma.usda.gov/apps/ 

agents/ 

Contact Us 

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1400 Independence Ave., SW 

Washington, D.C. 20250-0801 

Web site: http://www.rma.usda.gov 

E-mail: rmaweb.content@rma.usda.gov 

Download Copies from the Web 

Visit our online publications/fact sheets page at: 

http://www.rma.usda.gov/pubs/rme/fctsht.html 

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