Requirement to Purchase Buy-up Sugarcane Crop Insurance by Sept. 30, 2021

By Brian Breaux

Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

In February 2021, after sugarcane was made eligible for the USDA- Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) program, many Louisiana sugarcane farmers applied for Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) payments for the 2018 and/or the 2019 crop year(s) with many Louisiana sugarcane producers receiving Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) payments for one or both crop year(s).

This is a reminder to all Louisiana sugarcane producers that the Quality Loss Adjustment Program came with a requirement that the (sugarcane) producer must purchase sugarcane crop insurance at a coverage level of at least 60% for the 2022 and 2023 crop years in the same parish as the QLA payment was issued before the September 30, 2021 deadline. 

THE PENALTY

The penalty for not purchasing the required 60% sugarcane buy-up crop insurance by the September 30, 2021 deadline is that you must repay all of your QLA payment(s)!  

Therefore, Louisiana sugarcane producers that applied for QLA only have a few days remaining to meet with their crop insurance agents and purchase their sugarcane crop insurance at a 60% or higher coverage level by the September 30, 2021 deadline!

Here is the excerpt from the USDA- Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) website:

All producers receiving QLA payments are required to purchase federal crop insurance or NAP coverage for the next two available crop years at the 60% coverage level or higher in the county for which the producer was issued a QLA payment.

We do want to see anyone be forced to repay their QLA payments so please contact your crop insurance agent immediately.  If you have any questions, please contact Brian Breaux at brianb@lfbf.org or by cell at 225-603-0924.