Overview
The Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), reauthorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA), provides financial assistance to producers of noninsurable crops to protect against natural disasters that result in lower yields or crop losses, or prevents crop planting.
Eligible Producers
An eligible producer is a landowner, tenant or sharecropper who shares in the risk of producing an eligible crop and is entitled to an ownership share of that crop. The 2014 Farm Bill specifies that an individual or entity's average adjusted gross income (AGI) cannot exceed $900,000 to be eligible for NAP payments.
Eligible Crops
Eligible crops must be commercially produced agricultural commodities for which crop insurance is not available and be any of the following:
- Crops grown for food;
- Crops planted and grown for livestock consumption, such as grain and forage crops, including native forage;
- Crops grown for fiber, such as cotton and flax (except trees);
- Crops grown in a controlled environment, such as mushrooms and floriculture;
- Specialty crops, such as honey and maple sap;
- Sea oats and sea grass;
- Sweet sorghum and biomass sorghum;
- Industrial crops, including crops used in manufacturing or grown as a feedstock for renewable biofuel, renewable electricity, or biobased products;
- Value loss crops, such as aquaculture, Christmas trees, ginseng, ornamental nursery, and turfgrass sod; and
- Seed crops where the propagation stock is produced for sale as seed stock for other eligible NAP crop production.
Producers should contact a crop insurance agent for questions regarding insurability of a crop in their county. For further information on whether a crop is eligible for NAP coverage, producers should contact the FSA county office where their farm records are maintained.
Eligible Causes of Loss
Eligible causes of loss include the following natural disasters:
- Damaging weather, such as drought, freeze, hail, excessive moisture, excessive wind or hurricanes;
- Adverse natural occurrences, such as earthquake or flood; and
- Conditions related to damaging weather or adverse natural occurrences, such as excessive heat, plant disease, volcanic smog (VOG) or insect infestation.
The natural disaster must occur during the coverage period, before or during harvest, and must directly affect the eligible crop.
Coverage Levels
NAP provides catastrophic level (CAT) coverage based on the amount of loss that exceeds 50 percent of expected production at 55 percent of the average market price for the crop.
The 2014 Farm Bill authorizes additional coverage levels ranging from 50 to 65 percent of production, in 5 percent increments, at 100 percent of the average market price. Additional coverage must be elected by a producer by the application closing date. Producers who elect additional coverage must pay a premium in addition to the service fee. Crops intended for grazing are not eligible for additional coverage.
Contact Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250
Service Area
National Program