Informational Memorandum

May 24, 2019

TO:              All Approved Insurance Providers writing in California

FROM:        Jeff Yasui,  /s/
                    Director, Davis Regional Office

SUBJECT:  California Sweet Cherry Counties – 2019 Crop Year, Use of Crop Appraisals for 2020 Yield Determination
                    for Fifth Leaf Orchards

The Special Provisions allow the Davis Regional Office (RO) to establish coverage for an orchard that is 5th leaf or older if it doesn’t meet the minimum production requirement of 2300 lbs./acre.

The recent rain storm has caused significant damage to cherries in all districts. It is projected that crop losses could be as high as 70 to 75%. Orchards coming into insurability for the 2020 crop year will not be able to meet the minimum production requirements as expected. Also, they may not have representative harvested production for the Davis RO’s use in establishing the coverage.

For crop year 2019, approved insurance providers (AIPs) may conduct appraisals to determine the amount of crop production (damaged and undamaged) on the tree. In the Sweet Cherry Appraisal Worksheet remarks section, reference this Informational Memorandum. The Davis RO will consider these appraisals in establishing the yield for fifth leaf orchards that have not met the minimum production of 2,300 lbs./acre. It will be only used to establish the basis for coverage on orchards that are coming into insurability for the 2020 crop year. The appraised production will not be included in the actual revenue history (ARH) database. ARH databases will only include what is acceptable according to the ARH Sweet Cherry Pilot Insurance Standards Handbook.

DISPOSAL DATE:
December 31, 2020.