Corn and Cotton Prevented Planting Decisions

From 2019 to 2023, 4.6 million corn acres and 1.4 million cotton acres in the 13-state southeast region were prevented from planting (Table 1; USDA-FSA). Prevented planting is a provision covered by the United States (US) Federal Crop Insurance Program that compensates producers for losses from delayed planting or not being able to plant an eligible crop within that crop’s region-specific planting period. Under the prevented planting provision, revenue protection (RP), revenue protection with harvest price exclusion (RP-HPE), and yield protection (YP) crop insurance pay producers an indemnity if they are impeded from planting an insured crop by a designated final planting date, or within any applicable late planting period.[1] If a producer – who purchased a qualifying policy – is unable to plant by the final planting date, there are four options:

  1. Plant the insured crop in the late planting period with reduced insurance. For most crops, the production guarantee[2] decreases one percent per day, for each day of delay after the final plant date until the crop is planted or the end of the late planting period. Late planting periods vary by crop and area.
  2. Take the prevented planting payment, based on the applicable prevented planting factor, and leave ground fallow or plant a summer cover crop after the late planting period. Summer cover crops cannot be harvested or grazed before November 1.
  3. Receive 35% of the prevented planting payment for the original crop and switch to an uninsured second crop.
  4. Forgo the prevented planting payment for the first crop and plant an insured second crop. [READ MORE]