A Risk Management Agency Fact Sheet 

Delayed Harvest: 

Wet Conditions 

November 2009 

Program 

Aid 2038 

United States 

Department of 

Agriculture 

Extremely wet conditions are delaying harvest of 

sugar beets, potatoes, cotton, corn, and soybeans. 

In some cases the moisture content is so high the 

crop cannot be physically harvested with normal 

harvest equipment. 

Actions You Can Take 

 Contact your crop insurance agent and report 

a loss. 

 Tell your agent that your harvest is delayed 

because of bad weather. 

 Continue your normal and customary 

harvesting practices, if possible. 

	 Document conditions for your acreage and 

the actions you take so you can receive an 

accurate claim payment, if one is due. 

	 You must harvest your crop during the 

extension period if a window of opportunity 

arises. If you do not, the crop insurance 

company will appraise the acreage at that 

time and finalize the claim based on that 

appraisal. Damage occurring after the 

window of opportunity to harvest is 

uninsurable. 

Coverage 

Your crop insurance policy will cover loss of 

quality (as specified in the crop provisions), 

reduced yields, and revenue losses if you chose 

revenue coverage. The cost of drying the 

harvested crop is NOT covered. 

End of Insurance Period 

If you are unable to harvest by the calendar date 

for the end of the insurance period because of 

extreme wet or snowy conditions, you can ask for 

more time to harvest beyond the end of the 

insurance period calendar date from your crop 

insurance company. 

The end of the insurance period is December 10 

for most spring planted crops; November 15 for 

sugar beets in most States and counties; and 

October 15 for potatoes in some areas. The 

specific date is found in your crop provisions and 

is a contractual date that is not extended by the 

Risk Management Agency. Read the crop 

provisions in your policy to be sure of the date. 

The Risk Management Agency’s procedures 

(Loss Adjustment Manual Standards Handbook, 

FCIC 25010) allow your crop insurance company 

to authorize policyholders, on a case-by-case 

basis, more time to attempt to harvest so claims 

can be settled based on harvested production. 

Additional Time To Harvest 

Your crop insurance company may allow 

additional time to harvest when the following 

conditions are met: 

(a) You give timely notice of loss to your crop 

insurance agent; 

(b) The crop insurance company determines and 

documents that the delay in harvest was due 

to an insured cause of loss; 

(c) You demonstrate to the crop insurance 

company that harvest was not possible due to 

insured causes; and 

This fact sheet gives only a general overview of the Federal Crop Insurance Program and is not a complete policy. For further information 

and an evaluation of your risk management needs, contact a crop insurance agent. 
 

(d) The delay in harvest was not due to 

uninsured causes of loss nor because you 

did not have sufficient equipment or 

manpower to harvest the crop by the end of 

the insurance period. 

When your crop insurance company authorizes 

additional time to harvest, the end of the 

insurance period is NOT extended. Rather, 

you are granted additional time to attempt to 

harvest the crop in order to settle any loss 

based on harvested production. Any additional 

damage to your crop (by an insured cause of 

loss) during the extension period is covered. 

Any Avoidable production loss will be 

charged as an appraisal against the guarantee 

in your policy. 

Please be aware that if there is significant 

snow cover, if the crop is under water, or if 

extreme wet conditions exist, the crop 

insurance company should not (and is not 

required to) perform final inspections when 

conditions make it impossible to obtain 

appraisals accurately. 

Contact Us 

United States Department of Agriculture 

Risk Management Agency 

1400 Independence Ave., SW, Stop 0801 

Washington, D.C. 20250-0801 

TEL: (202) 690-2803 

FAX: (202) 690-2818 

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

Email: RMA.CCO@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 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, 

color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, 

marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual 

orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or 

because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from 

any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply 

to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, 

large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET 

Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). 

To file a complaint of discrimination write to: USDA, Director, 

Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 

720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and 

employer. 

Risk Management Agency Delayed Harvest: Wet Conditions/PA-2038