Small Grains: Buckwheat, Flax, Oats, and Rye

*Program may not be available in all counties.              Sales Closing Dates text (PDF)

Small Grains are insurable if:

• You have a share;
• Premium rates are provided by the actuarial documents;
• It is grown on insurable acreage;
• It is planted for harvest as grain; and
• Buckwheat is grown under and in accordance with a processor contract.

For crops, types, or practices not insurable in a county, consult a crop insurance agent about the availability of coverage through a written agreement.

Coverage begins at the later of when we accept your application or the date when the crop is planted and ends with the earliest occurrence of one of the following:

• Total destruction of the crop;
• Harvest of the unit;
• Final adjustment of loss;
• Abandonment of the crop;
• July 31 in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee;
• August 31 for winter types in Virginia;
• September 25 in Alaska; or
• October 31 for all other states and spring types in Virginia.

See crop provisions for additional information.

You must file a report of planted acreage with your crop insurance agent by the acreage reporting date. Acreage reporting dates vary by crop and county. Consult your crop insurance agent for more information and specific reporting requirements.

Acreage reporting dates:

• Spring Oats.........…...…….5/15, 6/15, or 7/15
• Buckwheat, Flax............….7/15 or 8/15
• Rye.......................………..11/15 or 1/15
• No Type Specified Oats,
  Winter Oats.........…......….12/15, 1/15, 3/15, or 5/15

You are protected against the following:

• Adverse weather conditions, including natural perils such as hail, frost, freeze, wind, drought, and excess precipitation;
• Earthquake;
• Failure of the irrigation water supply, if caused by an insured peril during the insurance period;
• Fire;
• Insects and plant disease, except for insufficient or improper application of pest or disease control measures;
• Wildlife; or
• Volcanic eruption. 

If a loss occurs you must:

• Protect the crop from further damage by providing sufficient care;
• Notify your crop insurance agent within 72 hours of your initial discovery of damage, but not later than 15 days after the end of the insurance period; and
• Leave representative samples for each field of the damaged unit.

The premium subsidy percentages and available coverage levels, if electing basic units, are shown below. Your share of the premium will be 100 percent minus the subsidy amount.

Catastrophic Risk Protection (CAT) coverage is fixed at 50 percent of your average yield and 55 percent of the price election. The cost for CAT coverage is an administrative fee of $655 per crop per county.

Basic, optional, enterprise, and whole farm unit structures are available in select counties for small grains. Premium discounts apply for basic and enterprise units. You may only elect whole farm units if you select a Revenue Protection plan of insurance.

For buckwheat and flax, you may buy crop insurance coverage under one of the insurance plans offered: Catastrophic Risk Protection or Actual Production History.

For oats and rye, you may buy crop insurance coverage under one of the insurance plans offered: Catastrophic Risk Protection, Revenue Protection, Revenue Protection with Harvest Price Exclusion, or Yield Protection, where available.

Additional options are Contract Pricing, Coverage Level by Irrigated Practice, Hail & Fire Exclusion, Personal T-Yield Option, Prevented Planting +5% Option, Quality Loss Option, Supplemental Coverage Option, Enhanced Coverage Option, Trend Adjusted Yield Option, Yield Adjustment Option, Yield Cup Option, and Yield Exclusion, where available.