Jerry’s Peas Pass Insurance Spot Check

A couple of weeks ago I got a letter from RCIS, which is the insurance company that covers my peas. I was notified that I was being spot checked. A few days later I received a call from an adjuster requesting a time when I could meet him out at the farm. I was concerned that I was in some kind of trouble. He informed me the computer flags a certain number of farmers every year for a spot check. I am quite certain the spot check was not random as my peas have been a total loss the past two years. Peas cannot tolerate wet field conditions for extended periods of time, and that is what happened the past two years. I met two adjusters Thursday afternoon.

The adjusters checked the population and row width, they wanted to know the tillage practices, herbicides used and fertilizer. They even called my agronomist. In addition, they took pictures of the field. Basically they wanted to know if I was following "good farming" practices. Was it really the weather that caused the crop failures? The last question on the forms they filled out was, does this farm need to be visited again? They answered no! That means they were satisfied I was following "good farming" practices. They were really nice and polite. Unfortunately there are a very small number of farmers that somehow try and scam or cheat the crop insurance program and this is a check and balance to preserve the integrity of the program.