With corn and soybean planting in the Eastern Corn Belt behind schedule, many farmers are dealing with prevented planting and replant decisions. In response, we have put together materials pertaining to these decisions. In addition to this article, we have compiled resources from Purdue University’s Department of Agronomy and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency that include additional information on crop insurance, the impact of planting date on crop yields, and replant considerations. Those links and documents are available at the end of this article.

One of the first things to consider when making these decisions is crop insurance coverage and its provisions. If a farmer chooses to plant after the final crop insurance planting date, the insurance guarantee is reduced by 1 percent for each day after the final planting date. After 25 days, the guarantee is 55 percent for corn and 60 percent for soybeans. The final planting dates for corn and soybeans in Indiana are June 5 and June 20, respectively. The late planting periods in Indiana are June 6-30 for corn and from June 21 to July 15 for soybeans.

Farmers who are facing a situation in which the crop has not been planted by the final crop insurance planting date have at least three alternatives:

• Take the prevented planting payment and do not harvest a crop on those acres.
• Plant the crop after the planting deadline.
• Plant an alternative crop instead.

Let’s briefly examine these three alternatives. First, if a prevented planting provision is offered in their crop insurance plan, a farmer may receive a prevented planting payment if they are unable to plant the insured crop. The percentages used to compute these payments are significantly below the farm’s crop insurance coverage guarantee. The prevented planting coverage factors are 55 percent for corn and 60 percent for soybeans. This means that a farmer would essentially have coverage levels of 55 percent for corn and 60 percent for soybeans.

Second, the farm can plant the insured crop after the final planting date and, as noted above, have the guarantee reduced depending on the number of days between the final crop insurance planting date and the actual planting date.

Third, the farm can choose to plant an alternative crop after the final crop insurance planting date. If a second insurable crop is planted in place of the first crop on or before the end of the late planting period (June 30 for corn and July 15 for soybeans in Indiana), coverage for the second crop replaces the coverage for the first crop. If the alternative crop is planted after this date, the second crop can still be insured and payment equal to 35 percent of the prevented planting payment for the first crop applies.

If a crop is severely damaged due to a natural peril and is projected to produce less than 90 percent of the guaranteed yield, some crop insurance policies provide small replant payments. Minimum area and late planting rules apply, and the same crop must be planted again.

Be sure to check out the PDFs and links below for more information.

Prevented Planting Changes for 2017

Source: USDA-RMA
Download the PDF.

Crop Insurance Fact Sheet – Corn

Source: USDA-RMA
Download the PDF.

Crop Insurance Fact Sheet – Soybeans

Source: USDA-RMA
Download the PDF.

Corn Replant Considerations for 2017

Source: R.L. (Bob) Nielsen, Purdue Agronomy
Read the article.

Hybrid Maturities for Delayed Planting

Source: R.L. (Bob) Nielsen, Purdue Agronomy
Read the article.

The Planting Date Conundrum for Corn

Source: R.L. (Bob) Nielsen, Purdue Agronomy
Read the article.