As with any business, agricultural producers face risks of all kinds. However, the two most important risks facing farmers are yield and price. Fortunately, producers can buy insurance that reduces their exposure to low yields or low prices. Unavoidable risks protected by crop insurance include:
* Heat
* Hail
* Drought
* Frost
* Freeze
* Pests
* Excess Moisture
Since the 1930s, crop insurance has been available to agricultural producers in the United States. However, it was in the 1990s that the United States government promoted crop insurance by offering new products and more insurance premium subsidies.
The Risk Management Agency (RMA), is part of the United States Department of Agriculture is the governing authority for the crop insurance program and is in charge of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC). Private insurance companies contract with RMA to service crop insurance sold through independent insurance agencies. As with other disaster insurance programs, such as the National Flood Insurance Program, the private sector sells crop insurance, as the private sector is more efficient and rapidly adjudicates claims.
Crop insurance is unique in that companies selling Federal Crop insurance have a mandate to sell to any farmer, even those who are at high risk, at the same premium set in advance by the Federal government. Even farmers in high-risk drought areas such as California get policies without special underwriting standards or higher premium rates.
Without crop insurance, agricultural producers would have difficulty in achieving financial stability, a more difficult time in getting and repaying loans. Crop insurance allows agricultural producers to help forward marketing.
Essential facts about United States Crop Insurance
* Farmers share in the cost of the program
* Agricultural producers are personally responsible for managing risk
* Under the program, the producer gets tailored risk management solutions
* Quick indemnity pay outs
* The crop insurance program is dynamic; it can quickly adjust and self-correct
* Payments to producers never exceed actual insured losses
* Insurance is allowable collateral for loans
* Growers have no payment limits that cut protection from losses
* Insured growers have the benefit of private sector efficiency
* The program has the flexibility to meet World Trade Organization support limits
The United States crop insurance program provides so much more than just protection from risk. It plays a vital role in keeping the agriculture industry functioning.
Contact our office to make sure you are completely covered.
Content provided by Transformer Marketing.
Sources: http://www2.ca.uky.edu/cmspubsclass/files/cgwalters/Understanding%20Crop%20Insurance.pdf, http://www2.ca.uky.edu/cmspubsclass/files/cgwalters/Understanding%20Crop%20Insurance.pdf, http://www.cropinsuranceinamerica.org/just-the-facts/is-crop-insurance-like-other-forms-of-insurance/, https://www.cropinsurers.com/images/pdf/focus-on-congress/Importance_of_Crop_Insurance_in_the_US.pdf
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Monterey Bay Youth Outdoor Day is a totally free event open to the public. Our focus is to get kids interested in the many outdoor activities that are right here in our back yard. With over forty different organizations represented, there is something for everyone!
Monterey Bay Youth Outdoor Day is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating youth about the countless outdoor activities available in our area. All of us involved with MBYOD have the same goal for the children of today…
Our goal is simple, lets get our youth back outside and active! We believe that we live in a unique and amazing region and because of that it is important to teach our children to cherish it. We are looking to encourage youth to be healthy through outdoor activities and build a better place for the future.
In hopes of achieving our goal we hold an annual event at the Santa Cruz Fairgrounds where various companies and organizations can showcase their specialties. The event is totally free and we also raffle off dozens of prizes to the youth in attendance to inspire them to participate in the outdoor activity that they find most appealing.
MBYOD 2014 will be held on June 21 from 10am to 4pm, so bring your children to the fairgrounds so they can enjoy the dozens of activities we have to offer!
When: Saturday June 21, 2014 from 10:00 am-4:00 pm
Where: Santa Cruz Fairgrounds
Cost: FREE!
Who: The entire family!
Content provided by http://watsonville.patch.com/groups/events/p/monterey-bay-youth-outdoor-day-2014
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It’s summertime, which means outdoor play, hiking, gardening — and tick bites. The creepy crawlies tend to latch on during the summer months and these arachnids are ubiquitous throughout the U.S.
But tick bites are more than just an annoying spring and summer nuisance. Each year, about 300,000 people in the U.S. catch Lyme disease, which is caused by bacteria, from a tick bite, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. Thousands more develop tick-borne diseases such as the malarialike disease babesiosis, the flulike anaplasmosis and the Heartland virus infection.
But people can take steps to avoid the nasty critters, beyond the old-standby advice to cover up and avoid tall grass, experts say. From wood chips to a quick ride in the dryer, here are 10 ways to avoid tick bites.
1. Repel the bugs
Insecticides can be used to repel ticks, said Thomas Mather, a public health entomologist at the University of Rhode Island, and the director of tickencounter.org.
Permethrin, the insecticide found in antimalarial bed nets, kills adult ticks as well as those in their larval stage, called nymphs, which are the likeliest to harbor Lyme disease.
Ideally, people should buy permethrin-treated clothing, socks and shoes, Mather said.
By contrast, evidence suggests that the more common bug spray chemical, N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET), isn’t useful against ticks.
“It’s not toxic to the ticks,” Mather told Live Science. “They still can scurry across a DEET-treated surface, and get to places where the DEET is not,” such as a warm human leg, he said.
2. Be vigilant at home
Hiking and camping aren’t the most common ways to catch a tick-borne disease, said Kirby Stafford III, the state entomologist at The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and the author of the “Tick Management Handbook.”
“We estimate three-fourths of people pick up the ticks in activities in and around the home,” with children’s play and gardening being some of the riskiest activities, Stafford told Live Science.
Parents should also make sure to do tick checks on children when they come in, he said.
3. Stay in the sun
Tick nymphs have leaky cuticles, or outer covers, that rapidly lose moisture. As a result, they can’t survive in environments with lower than 80 percent humidity for more than eight hours, Mather said.
As a result, nymphs congregate in leaf piles in shady, humid environments, so sticking to sunny areas can reduce tick exposure, he said.
4. Change the landscape
Most ticks around homes stay within a few yards of the interface between the yard and a wooded area, Stafford said.
To keep the yard tick-free, use landscaping that deters mice, deer, woodchucks and other rodents that carry ticks, he said. People should also remove tick habitat such as leaf piles, shrubs and groundcover near the house. Play sets should be kept in the sun, away from the shade, he added.
Ticks won’t cross a barrier of wood chips placed around the yard’s perimeter, perhaps because the dry material makes them dry out too much, he said.
Read the entire list here.
Content provided by http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/14/avoid-tick-bites-summer_n_5474567.html?ir=Healthy+Living
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If you rent out residential property, you face a variety of financial risks, everything from damage from fires and windstorms, through fines for building code violations, to a disgruntled tenant who sues you.
Landlord insurance to the rescue! These policies cover losses to the property, medical payments for tenants or visitors injured on the premises, and your personal liability for alleged negligence.
The amount of coverage depends on your financial situation. If you’ve taken out a mortgage on the property, the lender will probably insist that you buy a policy large enough to cover the loan balance. As a rule of thumb, the higher the value of the property and the greater the risk of potentially catastrophic liability, the more coverage you’ll need.
Your premium will depend on the type of losses covered and the extent of reimbursement. If you choose comprehensive or all risk coverage (which will pay for damage from all causes unless specifically excluded), your cost will be higher than if you buy “named perils” coverage (which covers only losses due to specific causes). Expect a higher premium for replacement value, which will reimburse you fully for rebuilding your property, than for actual cash value coverage, which will pay only the value of the property, less depreciation.
You can also reduce your premium by increasing the deductible (which usually range from $100 to 5% of the building coverage).
Optional coverages include repayment for rental income lost if the property becomes uninhabitable, and for risks of doing business with tenants, such as legal fees and liability against claims for libel, slander, and discrimination.
Our personal insurance specialists would be happy to help you choose the landlord coverage that offers the best value. Just give us a call.
Content provided by Transformer Marketing.
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Summertime is synonymous with backyard barbecues and cooling cocktails. Barbecue ribs, sausages, chicken, steaks, burgers, and hot dogs are permanent fixtures on the menu. Just because it’s summer, doesn’t mean that you have to pig out on unhealthy food. In fact, it’s a perfect time to try out some new recipes for the barbecue.
- Make your own homemade popsicles with 100% fruit juice and an ice tray.
- Jazz up your salad. Instead of the same ol’ same ol’, throw in some different greens, add some spice, nuts, and fish. Fresh salmon is a huge hit with a lot of recipes.
- Use more fresh oils. Some favorites are olive oil, grapeseed oil, walnut oil, peanut oils, and sesame oils.
- Drinks lots of H2o.
- Find the season’s best fresh fruit and enjoy. The fruit is also a healthy dessert.
- Cucumbers are versatile. Cucumbers are delicious in salads (think-cucumber and tomato salad) or as appetizers (think-sliced cucumbers with Greek dressing and Feta cheese).
- Grill those vegetables. Vegetables such as bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, asparagus, zucchini are great for grilling.
- Make your own fruit juice.
- Forget the ice cream, get the frozen yogurt. Mixed it up and add more than one flavor.
- Add more fish to your grill.
This summer spice up your grill, menu and health!
Content provided by Transformer Marketing.
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As with any business, agricultural producers face risks of all kinds. However, the two most important risks facing farmers are yield and price. Fortunately, producers can buy insurance that reduces their exposure to low yields or low prices. Unavoidable risks protected by crop insurance include:
