On August 31, 2020, the Risk Management Agency (RMA) issued Managers Bulletin: MGR-20-027 that extended the sales closing date for strawberries. https://www.rma.usda.gov/en/Policy-and-Procedure/Bulletins-and-Memos/2020/MGR-20-027. RMA states that on May 21, 2020, The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors approved the Production and Revenue History (PRH) plan of insurance for strawberries for the 2021 crop year. RMA states the sales closing date for Florida policies was first set as August 31, 2020 but, due to complications during implementation, Florida will have a sales closing date of September 10, 2020 for the 2021 crop year.
ANALYSIS – Unlike spring planted crops, there is no statutory deadline for sales closing dates for fall planted crops. Therefore, extending the sales closing date to September 10, 2020, does not violate the law; although it may violate the terms of the policy. However, given that this is the first year the product is offered for sale, there were no existing contracts that could be violated. Unfortunately, RMA does not explain what complications occurred that delayed implementation. Curiously, an examination of RMA’s website under its Crop Policies section does not show PRH plan for strawberries although the PRH General Provisions are published under RMA’s General Policies section. https://www.rma.usda.gov/Policy-and-Procedure/Crop-Policies; https://www.rma.usda.gov/Policy-and-Procedure/General-Policies. The link previously provided to the policy is no longer good.
All statements made are opinions of the author and are not intended to provide legal opinions or legal advice.