Micheal Clements, NAFB News Service

Signup is open for the Quality Loss Adjustment Program, just announced by the Department of Agriculture. Funded by the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, the program provides assistance to producers who suffered eligible crop quality losses due to natural disasters occurring in 2018 and 2019. Eligible crops include those for which federal crop insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program coverage is available, except for grazed crops and value loss crops, such as honey, maple sap, aquaculture, floriculture, mushrooms, ginseng root, ornamental nursery, Christmas trees, and turfgrass sod. Additionally, crops that were sold or fed to livestock or that are in storage may be eligible. However, crops that were destroyed before harvest are not eligible. Crop quality losses occurring after harvest, due to deterioration in storage, or that could have been mitigated, are also not eligible. The deadline to apply for QLA is Friday, March 5, 2021. For more information, visit farmers.gov/quality-loss.