Final Agency Determination: FAD-200

Subject: Request dated October 20, 2013, resubmitted to the Risk Management Agency (RMA) on October 29, 2013, requesting a Final Agency Determination for the 2013 crop year regarding the interpretation of section 17(e)(1) of the Common Crop Insurance Policy Basic Provisions (Basic Provisions), published at 7 C.F.R. § 457.8. This request is pursuant to 7 C.F.R. § 400, subpart X.

Background:

Section 17(e)(1) of the Basic Provisions states, in relevant part:

17. Prevented Planting.

(e) The maximum number of acres that may be eligible for a prevented planting payment for any crop will be determined as follows:

(1) The total number of acres eligible for prevented planting coverage for all crops cannot exceed the number of acres of cropland in your farming operation for the crop year, unless you are eligible for prevented planting coverage on double cropped acreage in accordance with section 17(f)(4). The eligible acres for each insured crop will be determined as follows:

(i) If you have planted any crop in the county for which prevented planting insurance was available (you will be considered to have planted if your APH database contains actual planted acres) or have received a prevented planting insurance guarantee in any one or more of the four most recent crop years, and the insured crop is not required to be contracted with a processor to be insured:

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(ii) If you have not planted any crop in the county for which prevented planting insurance was available (you will be considered to have planted if your APH database contains actual planted acres) or have not received a prevented planting insurance guarantee in all of the four most recent crop years, and the insured crop is not required to be contracted with a processor to be insured:

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The requestor states both sections 17(e)(1)(i) and (ii) reference if you have planted or not planted “ANY” crop. The requestor would like clarification on what FCIC means by the word “ANY.”

The requestor interprets that the phrase “any crop” refers to the crop which the policyholder has insured for that crop year; i.e., a policyholder purchases insurance for corn therefore the section reference to “any” refers to the crop of corn for which he has purchased insurance. It does not mean any crop, i.e., soybeans, barley, wheat.

Therefore, if a policyholder has purchased insurance for corn, but has not ever planted corn and has no APH for corn and was unable to plant corn due to rain, the policyholder would qualify under section 17(e)(1)(ii) as a policyholder that has not planted “any” crop in the county even though the policyholder has planted other crops, i.e., soybeans in the county and has an APH for soybeans.

FCIC does not agree with the requestor’s interpretation. The phrase “any crop” means any crop for which prevented planting insurance is available in the county. The provisions of section 17(e)(1)(ii) are only applicable if a policyholder has never planted a crop for which prevented planting insurance was available, or has not received a prevented planting insurance guarantee within the previous four crop years. The phrase “any crop” is not limited to the crop for which the policyholder purchased insurance. The term “any” is given its plain meaning and in the context of the sentence this means that if the policyholder has planted any crop in the county for which prevented planting was available, section 17(e)(1)(i) of the Basic Provisions is applicable, regardless of the crop the policyholder has insured.

In accordance with 7 C.F.R. § 400.765(c), this Final Agency Determination is binding on all participants in the Federal crop insurance program for the crop years the policy provisions are in effect. Any appeal of this decision must be in accordance with 7 C.F.R. § 400.768(g).

Date of Issue: December 24, 2013