1437.10—Notice of loss, appraisal requirements, and application for payment.
(a)
When an eligible crop is damaged by an eligible cause of loss, at least one producer having a share in the unit must provide a notice of loss to CCC in the administrative FSA county office for the unit, within:
(i)
15 calendar days after the damaging weather or adverse natural occurrence, or date loss of the crop or commodity becomes apparent for low yield claims; and
(b)
For each crop for which a notice of loss is filed, producers must provide the following information:
(5)
The existence of a guaranteed payment through a contract or agreement for planted acreage as opposed to delivery of production, if one exists;
(iii)
Whether a purchase, delivery, or arrangement for purchase or delivery was made for seed, chemicals, fertilizer, etc; and
(iv)
What and when land preparation measures, e.g. cultivation, etc. were completed and indicate what has been done or will be done with the acreage, e.g. abandoned, replanted, etc.
(iii)
What and when land preparation measures and practices, e.g. cultivation, planting, irrigated, etc. were completed before and after the loss; and
(iv)
What will be done with the affected crop acreage, e.g. harvested, destroyed and replanted to a different crop, abandoned, etc.
(c)
A notice of loss provided beyond the time specified in paragraph (a) of this section may be considered timely filed if, at the discretion of CCC, provided at such time to permit an authorized CCC representative the opportunity to:
(1)
Verify the information on the notice of loss by inspection of the specific acreage or crop involved; and
(2)
Determine, based on information obtained by inspection of the specific acreage or crop involved, that an eligible cause of loss, as opposed to other circumstance, caused the claimed damage or loss.
(d)
Producers who file a notice of loss, using the appropriate CCC form, for crop acreage that will not be harvested as intended, such as abandoned, put to another use, replanted to the same or a different crop, or in the case of forage, acreage intended to be mechanically harvested that will be both mechanically harvested and grazed, must:
(1)
Not put the crop to another use or prepare the acreage for replanting or otherwise change any conditions of the crop or acreage until written notification of release of the crop or acreage is received from CCC;
(2)
Request, using the appropriate FSA form, an appraisal of the un-harvested acreage for potential production and release of the crop or acreage:
(i)
No less than 15 calendar days before replanting or in the case of forage intended to be mechanically harvested, grazing of the crop acreage.
(ii)
Within 15 calendar days after the acreage is abandoned, for example, discontinued care for the crop or provided care so insignificant as to provide no benefit to the crop, as determined by CCC.
(3)
Request the loss adjustor on the day the initial appraisal is completed, or request in any manner of written correspondence received in the FSA administrative county office no later than 15 calendar days after the request for initial appraisal is submitted, that the appraisal be deferred until the end of the growing season, the producer be permitted to establish representative sample areas according to paragraph (d)(4) of this section, and that the acreage be released immediately when:
(ii)
Producers and loss adjustors cannot resolve disagreement with the initial appraisal of the acreage to be released.
(4)
Establish representative sample areas of the acreage according to the loss adjustor's instructions received on the day the initial appraisal is completed or, if the loss adjustor is not available, according to the FCIC Loss Adjustment Manual (LAM) and applicable FCIC crop handbooks. Report the size, number, and location of the areas in any manner of written correspondence received in the FSA administrative county office, no later than 15 calendar days after requesting a deferred appraisal and before the acreage is put to another use or replanted. Representative sample areas must be of adequate construction and numbers to provide acceptable sampling results and maintained in sound condition, as determined by CCC, until released by CCC.
(5)
If possible, be present for the appraisal involving un-harvested crop acreage and accept or contest the results of the loss adjustor's appraisal. Producers unable to be present for the appraisal may contest the results of the appraisal in the FSA administrative county office.
(e)
For the 2005 and subsequent crop years, crop acreage for which an application for coverage has been filed, that is intended for production of forage seed and for which a notice of loss is filed indicating the crop acreage will not be harvested as seed, will be appraised for potential production of seed when producers provide CCC acceptable evidence of a contract to produce seed for the current crop year or acceptable records of acreage and seed production for three or more of the last 5 consecutive crop years, as determined by CCC.
(f)
Forage acreage for which a notice of loss is filed that was intended to be mechanically harvested but will be grazed and not mechanically harvested, or that was intended to be grazed but will be mechanically harvested and not grazed, does not require an appraisal or release of crop acreage.