FCIC Policies

Department of Agriculture

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation

Reinsured Policies

(Appropriate title for insurance provider)

Both FCIC and Reinsured Policies

Dry Bean Crop Provisions

If a conflict exists among the policy provisions, the order of priority is as follows: (1) The Catastrophic Risk Protection Endorsement, if applicable; (2) the Special Provisions; (3) these Crop Provisions; and (4) the Basic Provisions with (1) controlling (2), etc.

1. Definitions

Actual value. The dollar value received, or that could be received, for contract seed beans under a seed bean processor contract if the contract seed bean production is properly handled in accordance with the requirements of such contract.

Base price. The price per pound (excluding any discounts or incentives that may apply) that is stated in the seed bean processor contract and that will be paid to the producer for at least 50 percent of the total production under contract with the seed company.

Beans. Dry beans and contract seed beans.

Combining. A harvesting process that uses a machine to separate the beans from the pods and other vegetative matter and place the beans into a temporary storage receptacle.

Contract seed beans. Dry beans grown under the terms of a seed bean processor contract for the purpose of producing seed to be used for producing dry beans or vegetable beans in a future crop year.

Dry beans. The crop defined by The United States Standards for Beans excluding contract seed beans.

Harvest. Combining the beans. Beans which are swathed or knifed prior to combining are not considered harvested.

Local market price. The cash price per hundredweight for the U.S. No. 2 grade of dry beans of the insured type offered by buyers in the area in which you normally market the dry beans. Moisture content and factors not associated with grading under the United States Standards for Beans will not be considered in establishing this price.

Net price. The dollar value of dry bean production received, or that could have been received, after reductions in value due to insurable causes of loss.

Pick. The percentage, on a weight basis, of defects including splits, damaged (including discolored) beans, contrasting types, and foreign material that remains in the dry beans after dockage has been removed by the proper use of screens or sieves.

Planted acreage. In addition to the definition contained in the Basic Provisions, beans must initially be planted in rows far enough apart to permit mechanical cultivation, unless otherwise provided by the Special Provisions, actuarial documents, or by written agreement.

Practical to replant. In lieu of the definition of “Practical to replant” contained in section 1 of the Basic Provisions (§457.8), practical to replant is defined as our determination, after loss or damage to the insured crop, based on factors, including but not limited to moisture availability, condition of the field, time to crop maturity, and marketing window, that replanting the insured crop will allow the crop to attain maturity prior to the calendar date for the end of the insurance period. It will not be considered practical to replant after the end of the late planting period unless replanting is generally occurring in the area. For contract seed beans, it will not be considered practical to replant unless production from the replanted acreage can be delivered under the terms of the seed bean processor contract or the seed company agrees to accept such production.

Seed bean processor contract. A written agreement between the contract seed bean producer and the seed company, containing at a minimum:

(a) The contract seed bean producer's promise to plant and grow one or more specific varieties of contract seed beans, and deliver the production from those varieties to the seed company;

(b) The seed company's promise to purchase all the production stated in the contract; and

(c) A base price, or a method to determine such price based on published independent information, that will be paid to the contract seed bean producer for the production stated in the contract.

Seed company. Any business enterprise regularly engaged in the processing of seed beans, that possesses all licenses and permits for marketing seed beans required by the State in which it operates, and that possesses or has contracted for facilities, with enough drying, screening and bagging or packaging equipment to accept and process the seed beans within a reasonable amount of time after harvest.

Swathing or knifing. Severance of the bean plant from the ground, including the pods and beans, and placing them into windrows.

Type. A category of beans identified as a type in the Special Provisions.

2. Unit Division

(a) In addition to the definition of basic unit in section 1 of the Basic Provisions, all acreage of contract seed beans qualifies as a separate basic unit. For production based seed bean processor contracts, the basic unit will consist of all the acreage needed to produce the amount of production under contract, based on the actual production history of the acreage. For acreage based seed bean processor contracts, the basic unit will consist of all acreage specified in the contract.

(b) In addition to, or instead of, establishing optional units by section, section equivalent, or FSA farm serial number and by irrigated and non-irrigated acreage as provided in the unit division provisions contained in the Basic Provisions, a separate optional unit may be established for each bean type shown in the Special Provisions.

(c) Contract seed beans may qualify for optional units only if the seed bean processor contract specifies the number of acres under contract. Contract seed beans produced under a seed bean processor contract that specifies only an amount of production or a combination of acreage and production, are not eligible for optional units.

3. Insurance Guarantees, Coverage Levels, and Prices for Determining Indemnities

(a) In addition to the requirements of section 3(b) (Insurance Guarantees, Coverage Levels, and Prices for Determining Indemnities) of the Basic Provisions (§457.8), you may select only one price election for all the dry beans in the county insured under this policy unless the Special Provisions provide different price elections by type, in which case you may select one price election for each dry bean type designated in the Special Provisions. The price elections you choose for each type are not required to have the same percentage relationship to the maximum price offered by us for each type. For example, if you choose 100 percent of the maximum price election for one type, you may also choose 75 percent of the maximum price election for another type.

(b) For contract seed beans only, the dollar amount of insurance is obtained by multiplying the production guarantee per acre for each variety in the unit by the insured acreage of that variety, times the applicable base price, and times the price election percentage you selected. The total of these results will be the amount of insurance for contract seed beans in the unit.

4. Contract Changes

In accordance with section 4 (Contract Changes) of the Basic Provisions, the contract change date is November 30 preceding the cancellation date.

5. Cancellation and Termination Dates

In accordance with section 2 (Life of Policy, Cancellation, and Termination) of the Basic Provisions (§457.8), the cancellation and termination dates are:

6. Report of Acreage

For contract seed beans only, in addition to the requirements of section 6 (Report of Acreage) of the Basic Provisions (§457.8), you must submit a copy of the seed bean processor contract on or before the acreage reporting date.

7. Insured Crop

(a) In accordance with section 8 (Insured Crop) of the Basic Provisions(§457.8), the crop insured will be all the beans in the county for which a premium rate is provided by the actuarial documents:

(1) In which you have a share;

(2) That are planted for harvest as:

(i) Dry beans; or

(ii) If applicable, contract seed beans, if the seed bean processor contract is executed on or before the acreage reporting date; and

(3) That are not (unless allowed by the Special Provisions or by written agreement):

(i) Interplanted with another crop; or

(ii) Planted into an established grass or legume.

(b) For contract seed beans only:

(1) An instrument in the form of a “lease” under which you retain control of the acreage on which the insured crop is grown and that provides for delivery of the crop under substantially the same terms as a seed bean processor contract may be treated as a contract under which you have an insurable interest in the crop; and

(2) We will not insure any acreage of contract seed beans produced by a seed company.

(c) In addition to the types of dry beans designated in the Special Provisions, we will insure other types if:

(1) The type you intend to plant has been demonstrated to be adapted to the area. Evidence of adaptability must include:

(i) Results of test plots for 2 years and recommendations by a university or seed company; or

(ii) Two years of production reports that indicate your experience producing the type in your production area;

(2) You submit on or before the sales closing date your production reports and prices received, or the test plot results, and evidence of market potential, including the price buyers are willing to pay for the type; and

(3) Both parties (you and us) enter into a written agreement allowing insurance on the type in accordance with section 18 of the Basic Provisions.

(d) Any acreage of beans that is destroyed and replanted to a different insurable type of beans will be considered insured acreage in accordance with section 11.

8. Insurable Acreage

In addition to the provisions of section 9 (Insurable Acreage) of the Basic Provisions (§457.8):

(a) We will not insure any acreage that does not meet the rotation requirements contained in the Special Provisions; or

(b) Any acreage of the insured crop damaged before the final planting date, to the extent that the majority of growers in the area would normally not further care for the crop, must be replanted unless we agree that replanting is not practical. We will not require you to replant if it is not practical to replant to the same type of beans as originally planted.

9. Insurance Period

In accordance with the provisions of section 11 (Insurance Period) of the Basic Provisions (§457.8), the calendar date for the end of the insurance period is the date immediately following planting as follows:

(a) October 15 in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas;

(b) November 15 in California; and

(c) October 31 in all other States.

10. Causes of Loss

In accordance with the provisions of section 12 (Causes of Loss) of the Basic Provisions (§457.8), insurance is provided only against the following causes of loss that occur during the insurance period:

(a) Adverse weather conditions;

(b) Fire;

(c) Insects, but not damage due to insufficient or improper application of pest control measures;

(d) Plant disease, but not damage due to insufficient or improper application of disease control measures;

(e) Wildlife;

(f) Earthquake;

(g) Volcanic eruption; or

(h) Failure of the irrigation water supply, if caused by an insured peril that occurs during the insurance period.

11. Replanting Payments

(a) In accordance with section 13 (Replanting Payment) of the Basic Provisions (§457.8), a replanting payment is allowed if the bean crop is damaged by an insurable cause of loss to the extent that the remaining stand will not produce at least 90 percent of the production guarantee for the acreage and it is practical to replant.

(b) The maximum amount of the replanting payment per acre will be the lesser of 10 percent of the production guarantee for the type to be replanted or 120 pounds multiplied by your price election for the type to be replanted and by your insured share.

(c) When beans are replanted using a practice that is uninsurable as an original planting, the liability for the unit will be reduced by the amount of the replanting payment. The premium amount will not be reduced.

(d) The guarantee and premium for acreage replanted to a different insurable type will be based on the replanted type and will be calculated in accordance with sections 3 (Insurance Guarantees, Coverage Levels, and Prices for Determining Indemnities) and 7 (Annual Premium) of the Basic Provisions (§457.8) and section 3 of these Crop Provisions.

12. Duties in the Event of Damage or Loss

In accordance with the requirements of section 14 (Duties in the Event of Damage or Loss) of the Basic Provisions (§457.8), representative samples of the unharvested crop must be at least 10 feet wide and extend the entire length of each field in the unit. The samples must not be harvested or destroyed until the earlier of our inspection or 15 days after harvest of the balance of the unit is completed.

13. Settlement of Claim

(a) We will determine your loss on a unit basis. In the event you are unable to provide separate acceptable production records:

(1) For any optional units, we will combine all optional units for which such production records were not provided; or

(2) For any basic units, we will allocate any commingled production to such units in proportion to our liability on the harvested acreage for the unit.

(b) In the event of loss or damage to your bean crop covered by this policy, we will settle your claim by:

(1) Multiplying the insured acreage of each dry bean type by its respective production guarantee;

(2) Multiplying each result in section 13(b)(1) by the respective price election for each insured type;

(3) Totaling the results in section 13(b)(2);

(4) Multiplying the insured acreage of each contract seed bean type by its respective production guarantee;

(5) Multiplying each result in section 13(b)(4) by the applicable base price;

(6) Multiplying each result in section 13(b)(5) by your selected price election percentage;

(7) Totaling the results in section 13(b)(6);

(8) Totaling the results in section 13(b)(3) and section 13(b)(6);

(9) Multiplying the total production to be counted of each dry bean type if applicable, (see section 13(d)) by the respective price election;

(10) Totaling the value of all contract seed bean production (see section 13(c));

(11) Totaling the results in section 13(b)(9) and section 13(b)(10);

(12) Subtracting the total in section 13(b)(11) from the total in section 13(b)(8); and

(13) Multiplying the result by your share.

(c) The value of contract seed bean production to count for each type in the unit will be determined as follows:

(1) For production meeting the minimum quality requirements contained in the seed bean processor contract and for production that does not meet such requirements due to uninsured causes:

(i) Multiplying the actual value or base price per pound, whichever is greater, by the price election percentage you selected; and

(ii) Multiplying the result by the number of pounds of such production.

(2) For production not meeting the minimum quality requirements contained in the seed bean processor contract due to insurable causes:

(i) Multiplying the actual value by the price election percentage you selected; and

(ii) Multiplying the result by the number of pounds of such production.

(d) The total bean production to count (in pounds) from all insurable acreage on the unit will include:

(1) All appraised production as follows:

(i) Not less than the production guarantee per acre for acreage:

(A) That is abandoned;

(B) That is put to another use without our consent;

(C) That is damaged solely by uninsured causes; or

(D) For which you fail to provide production records that are acceptable to us;

(ii) Production lost due to uninsured causes;

(iii) Unharvested production (mature unharvested production of dry beans may be adjusted for quality deficiencies and excess moisture in accordance with section 13(e)); and

(iv) Potential production on insured acreage that you intend to put to another use or abandon, if you and we agree on the appraised amount of production. Upon such agreement, the insurance period for that acreage will end when you put the acreage to another use or abandon the crop. If agreement on the appraised amount of production is not reached:

(A) If you do not elect to continue to care for the crop, we may give you consent to put the acreage to another use if you agree to leave intact, and provide sufficient care for, representative samples of the crop in locations acceptable to us (The amount of production to count for such acreage will be based on the harvested production or appraisals from the samples at the time harvest should have occurred. If you do not leave the required samples intact, or fail to provide sufficient care for the samples, our appraisal made prior to giving you consent to put the acreage to another use will be used to determine the amount of production to count); or

(B) If you elect to continue to care for the crop, the amount of production to count for the acreage will be the harvested production, or our reappraisal if additional damage occurs and the crop is not harvested; and

(2) All harvested production from the insurable acreage.

(e) Mature dry bean production to count may be adjusted for excess moisture and quality deficiencies. If moisture adjustment is applicable, it will be made prior to any adjustment for quality. Adjustment for excess moisture and quality deficiencies will not be applicable to contract seed beans.

(1) Production will be reduced by 0.12 percent for each 0.1 percentage point of moisture in excess of 18 percent. We may obtain samples of the production to determine the moisture content.

(2) Production will be eligible for quality adjustment if:

(i) A pick is designated in the Special Provisions and the pick of the damaged production exceeds this designation; or

(ii) A pick is not designated in the Special Provisions and deficiencies in quality, in accordance with the United States Standards for Beans, result in dry beans not meeting the grade requirements for U.S. No. 2 (grades U.S. No. 3 or worse) because the beans are damaged or badly damaged; or

(iii) Substances or conditions are present that are identified by the Food and Drug Administration or other public health organizations of the United States as being injurious to human or animal health.

(3) Quality will be a factor in determining your loss only if:

(i) The deficiencies, substances, or conditions resulted from a cause of loss against which insurance is provided under these crop provisions and which occurs within the insurance period;

(ii) The deficiencies, substances, or conditions result in a net price for the damaged production that is less than the local market price;

(iii) All determinations of these deficiencies, substances, or conditions are made using samples of the production obtained by us or by a disinterested third party approved by us;

(iv) With regard to deficiencies in quality (except test weight, which may be determined by our loss adjuster), the samples are analyzed by:

(A) A grader licensed under the United States Agricultural Marketing Act or the United States Warehouse Act;

(B) A grader licensed under State law and employed by a warehouse operator who has a storage agreement with the Commodity Credit Corporation; or

(C) A grader not licensed under State law, but who is employed by a warehouse operator who has a commodity storage agreement with the Commodity Credit Corporation and is in compliance with State law regarding warehouses; and

(v) With regard to substances or conditions injurious to human or animal health, the samples are analyzed by a laboratory approved by us.

(4) Dry bean production that is eligible for quality adjustment, as specified in sections 13(e) (2) and (3), will be reduced:

(i) If a conversion factor is designated by the Special Provisions, by multiplying the number of pounds of eligible production by the conversion factor designated in the Special Provisions for the applicable grade or pick; or

(ii) If a conversion factor is not designated by the Special Provisions as follows:

(A) The market price of the qualifying damaged production and the local market price will be determined on the earlier of the date such quality adjusted production is sold or the date of final inspection for the unit. If a local market price is not available for the insured crop year, the current years' maximum price election available for the applicable type will be used. The price for the qualifying damaged production will be the market price for the local area to the extent feasible. We may obtain prices from any buyer of our choice. If we obtain prices from one or more buyers located outside your local market area, we will reduce such prices by the additional costs required to deliver the dry beans to those buyers. Discounts used to establish the net price of the damaged production will be limited to those that are usual, customary, and reasonable. The price of the damaged production will not be reduced for:

(1) Moisture content;

(2) Damage due to uninsured causes; or

(3) Drying, handling, processing, including trading tare for grade to obtain a higher grade and price, or any other costs associated with normal harvesting, handling, and marketing of the dry beans; except, if the price of the damaged production can be increased by conditioning, we may reduce the price of the production after it has been conditioned by the cost of conditioning but not lower than the value of the production before conditioning;

(B) The value per pound of the damaged or conditioned production will be divided by the local market price to determine the quality adjustment factor; and

(C) The number of pounds remaining after any reduction due to excessive moisture (the moisture-adjusted gross pounds (if appropriate)) of the damaged or conditioned production will then be multiplied by the quality adjustment factor to determine the net production to count.

(f) Any production harvested from plants growing in the insured crop may be counted as production of the insured crop on a weight basis.

14. Prevented Planting

Your prevented planting coverage will be a percentage specified in the actuarial documents of your production guarantee for timely planted acreage. If you have additional levels of coverage and pay an additional premium, you may increase your prevented planting coverage if such additional coverage is specified in the actuarial documents.