The SRA Debate Continues -- Help Get the Word Out
March 11, 2010
The SRA renegotiations are ongoing. Companies are currently working on a response to the release of the second draft, which contains $6.9 billion in cuts and a cap on agent commissions. The comments will be due back to RMA on March 22, but the agency has expressed a willingness to extend that deadline by a week if necessary. RMA has also stated that they will have meetings in both Washington, D.C., and Kansas City, allowing the companies an opportunity to speak individually with the agency. It is essential that you express your opposition to the agent commission cap and drastic cuts contained in the second draft to your company representatives, and urge them to be sure they carry that message through to RMA during these meetings.
After receiving comments back from the companies, RMA will develop a third draft, which they intend to be the final offer to the companies. This draft is expected to be issued in mid-April. While agents are technically not part of the negotiation process in an official capacity, NACIA has been working diligently to voice agents’ concerns with the proposed changes. It is also important that you, as an individual agent, help to get the message out. RMA has been working non-stop to sway public opinion in their favor, and has been very critical of agents during that process. They have written guest columns and letters to the editor in papers across the nation, had briefings on the Hill for Congressional staff, and had briefings for producer groups. We urge you to talk to your clients, your company representatives, and your Senators and Members of Congress, urging them to support the crop insurance program and the agents that work hard to deliver great service to producers, as well as to support the economy in rural America. Please refer to the two letters by NACIA and other crop insurance groups (one from only agents and one from agent and company groups). These letters are posted on the NACIA website here and here.
Right now, during this tenuous time, it is important that we make a concerted effort to ensure that we are doing everything we can to combat the drastic cuts and ridiculous agent commission cap that RMA has proposed. That is why it is vital that you submit your 2010 NACIA dues. Please visit our secure website (link below) and submit your dues online or print out the membership form and send a check to the address below.
Outside the SRA, here are some items of general interest from USDA:
- A new AIP has joined the crop insurance program. Last week, RMA announced that Occidental Fire and Casualty Company of North Carolina, headquartered in Raleigh, NC, will become the 16th crop insurance company approved to participate in the crop insurance program. Occidental’s Crop Division is located in Overland Park, KS, and will manage the crop insurance business. More Information.
- Today RMA published two Final Agency Determinations dealing with the issue of Prevented Planting, whose coverage was added to the common crop insurance basic policy provisions in the 1990's. More Info, FAD-110, and FAD-112.
- On March 10, Secretary Vilsack released details on the recently established functions and objectives of USDA's Office of Environmental Markets (OEM). The OEM’s mission will be to fulfill the agency’s climate and rural revitalization goals through the development of emerging markets for carbon, water quality, wetlands and biodiversity. For more information, click here.
- Secretary Vilsack announced on March 5 that around $121 million in partial 2009-crop counter-cyclical payments will be issued to producers with upland cotton and peanut base acres enrolled in the Direct and Counter-cyclical Payment (DCP) program. The final 2008 payments will not be issued for long grain rice and short and medium grain rice due to prices for those crops exceeding the payment trigger levels. For more information, click here.
- NRCS Chief Dave White on March 4 announced Secretary Vilsack’s pledge to provide additional assistance funding for California agricultural producers struggling with drought-related water cutoffs. Click here for more information.
- On March 4, Secretary Vilsack announced the granting of 22 rural broadband infrastructure projects for access to improved economic and educational opportunities through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. More than $254.6 million will be invested in the projects and an additional $13.1 million in private investment will be provided. See more information and a list of the recipients here.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Brent W. Gattis
NACIA Washington Representative
Submit dues to:
Brent W. Gattis
NACIA Washington Representative
1400 16th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
to the top
|
