FSA Announces New Crop Loss Coverage For Noninsurable Crops
DAUPHIN (Dauphin Co.)
The noninsured Crop Disaster
Assistance Program (NAP) ad
ministered by the Farm Service
Agency (FSA) offers new and im
proved crop loss coverage oppor
tunities beginning with crop year
2001.
“Unlike the old NAP, and
other disaster programs that take
time to implement, the new NAP
program will provide immediate
relief to farmers,” said FSA’s Je
nifer Hershey, county executive
Fall Web worms
Have Returned
Dr. Robert S. Hansen
Bradford County
Extension Forester
The fall webworm is begin
ning to construct its ugly nest in
forest and shade tees in our area.
The fall webworm is a widely
distributed defoliating pest of
shade trees and shrubs and ap
pears from late summer through
early fall. They are particularly
fond of nut trees such as black
walnut and hickory, but they
well feed on a variety of species.
The webworm constructs its nest
over the end of the branch and
only feeds on leaves within the
web. The large conspicuous web
is filled with caterpillars, dead,
partially-eaten leaves, and fecal
droppings. The remains of these
nests may persist through
winter.
The fall webworm
overwinters as brown pupae in a
cocoon that is concealed in
trash, ground litter, cracks and
crevices, or in the soil. Adult
moths first appear in early June
but may continue to appear in
small numbers during most of
the summer.
Moths vary considerably in
color from pure white to white
with black spots; their wing
spread is about VA inches. Fe
males deposit their light yellow
eggs in hair-covered masses of
several hundred eggs, usually on
the undersurface of the leaves.
Young larvae hatch in approxi
mately seven days. They imme
diately begin to spin a silken web
over the foliage on which they
feed. As they grow, they enlarge
the web to enclose more and
more foliage. These webs some
times encompass two to three
feet of the infested branch.
The larvae are gregarious and
feed together until the last molt,
after which they feed independ
ent of each other. Larvae mature
in about six weeks. Young larvae
are pale yellow with two rows ot
black marks along their bodies.
When fully grown, they are cov
ered with whitish hairs that
spring from black and orange
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director. “Loss adjusters will in
spect the damaged crops in some
cases, the local county committee
will review the claim, and pay
ments will be issued once the loss
threshold is reached.”
NAP covers 50 percent of the
producer’s expected production
at a payment rate equal to 55
percent of the crop’s average
market price. Benefits are limited
to $lOO,OOO per crop year for
each participant.
Since the 1995 crop year, FSA
warts. The larvae vary as to the
depth of coloring and markings,
but are usually greenish with a
broad, dusky stripe along the
back and a yellow stripe along
the side. Full-grown larvae leave
the web and pupate on or in the
soil, or in crevices around build
ings or fence posts. There are
one or two generations per year,
depending on the geographical
location.
Fall webworm larvae skele
tonize and consume leaves
under the protection of a tent
like web that they enlarge as
they grow and require addi
tional food. Since tree leaves are
in the process of “shutting
down” their processes this time
of year, webworms may defoli
ate a tree occasionally, but
rarely kill it. On shade trees, the
webs usually occur on an occa
sional branch. They may not
injure the tree appreciably, but
they reduce its ornamental
value.
Natural enemies of various
kinds help to control this insect.
Birds, insect predators and
insect parasites attack the fall
webworm larvae. Predators and
insect parasites may destroy
clusters of eggs. It is also possi
ble to reduce their numbers by
mechanical control. When the
tented branches are within
reach, they can be snipped off
and destroyed. This is practical
if the tents have not become too
large and the tree’s shape is not
threatened by this method.
Bt is effective if applied when
the webs are small. Remember
that the larvae must consume Bt
for it to be effective in control
ling the insect. Other chemical
control measures can be used
throughout the webworm
season, but they are most effec
tive when the webs are small.
The entire tree need not be
sprayed, but webs and surround
ing foliage should be thoroughly
covered. Remember that care
should be taken when using any
pesticide and directions on the
label must be followed exactly
for both safety and effectiveness.
has offered NAP assistance for
noninsurable crops each time a
widespread catastrophic loss oc
curred due to damaging weather.
Beginning with crop year 2001,
availability of NPA benefits will
be based on producers’ individual
crop losses, rather than on losses
occurring in a large area.
These guaranteed benefits,
subject to a minimal administra
tive fee, will provide risk protec
tion during the time when crops
are most vulnerable and will be
individualized based on the farm
er’s ability to produce the crop.
NAP covers all noninsurable,
commercially grown crops pro
duced for food and fiber, includ
ing honey, forage and grazing
crops, turfgrass sod, Christmas
trees, seed crops and aquaculture.
In addition, controlled envi
ronment crops are also eligible
such as mushrooms and floricul
ture.
Report: U.S. Aquaculture
Yields Promise, Raises Concerns
WASHINGTON, D.C. As
the American consumer’s
demand for seafood continues to
rise, so too does the likelihood
that the fish, shrimp, or shellfish
purchased at the market or res
taurant has been farm raised.
Aquaculture farming or
finfish, shellfish, or aquatic
plants continues to grow rap
idly worldwide, with production
doubling by weight and value
from 1989 to 1998.
In the U.S., aquaculture facili
ties now exist in every state and
certain regions are seeing rapid
growth.
A new report presented to the
Pew Oceans Commission exam
ines the role of the emerging
U.S. aquaculture industry in
meeting the nation’s demand for
seafood and its current and po
tential impacts on the marine
environment. The report recom
mends steps to ensure that do
mestic aquaculture grows in a
sustainable fashion, and calls
upon the U.S. to take a global
leadership role in adopting best
practices.
“The reality today is that
aquaculture is supplying a sig
nificant source of protein to con
sumers as wild ocean fisheries
are depleted or reach their
limit,” said Leon E. Panetta,
chair of the independent Pew
Oceans Commission, which is
conducting the first review of
national ocean policies in more
than 30 years. “There are a
number of issues related to this
growing industry that can affect
the quality of our oceans. This
report looks at those concerns
and presents recommendations
for balancing the expected
growth in aquaculture produc
tion with the protection of those
natural species and habitats that
are essential to the future of our
oceans.”
The report’s authors are Dr.
Rebecca Goldburg and Matthew
Elliott of Environmental De
fense and Dr. Rosamond Naylor
of Stanford University. They
find that farmed fish and shell
fish supply one-third of the
world’s seafood, and that in the
U.S., aquaculture (including im
ports) provides almost all of the
catfish and trout and nearly half
of the shrimp and salmon cur
rently consumed.
Although American aquacul
ture represents just over one
percent of the world’s produc
tion, about 4,000 aquaculture fa
cilities exist in the U.S., ranging
from enclosed tanks on land to
netpens and shellfish beds in
bays and estuaries. Collectively,
Crops in Dauphin County that
could be eligible for NAP include
peppers, potatoes, onions, squash,
cucumbers, cantaloupes, alfalfa,
and hay. Producers can check eli
gibility of their particular crop at
their local FSA office.
To be eligible for assistance,
applicants must annually pay a
nonrefundable service fee of $lOO
per crop, per administrative
county. Fees are capped at $3OO
per county not to exceed $9OO for
farmers with interests in multiple
counties. Limited resource farm
ers may request a waiver of this
fee.
Applicants are encouraged to
provide prior year’s production
data to FSA to establish a docu
mented yield history for loss cal
culations and payments. To be el
igible for NAP, a farmer must
have risk in producing the crop
and must comply with a conser
vation plan. The applicant’s
they raise over 100 different spe
cies of aquatic animals and
plants, and support jobs and
provide new sources of seafood
for consumers.
“With supplies of wild
seafood limited and demand
rising, aquaculture will likely
continue to expand in the U. 5.,”
said Goldburg. “Aquaculture is
here to stay. The challenge is to
ensure that this young industry
grows in a sustainable manner
and does not cause serious eco
logical damage.’’
The authors find that the
present harmful effects of U.S.
aquaculture on the marine envi
ronment are minor compared to
overfishing, coastal develop
ment, or global warming. They
also point out that the aquacul
ture industry is diverse in its
methods and practices and that
some segments of the industry,
such as shellfish growing, can
have ecological benefits. Never
theless, they recommend imme
diate action concerning several
problem areas:
• Eliminate or drastically
reduce the accidental release of
farmed fish into the wild. The
accidental release of farmed fish
may harm wild fish populations
through interbreeding and com
petition for habitat and food. In
addition, escaped fish may
spread diseases and parasites
throughout an ecosystem. For
example, escaped farmed Atlan
tic salmon may threaten endan
gered wild Atlantic salmon off
the Maine coast and wild Pacific
salmon in the Northwest. Sup
porting federal activities under
the Endangered Species Act to
protect wild salmon populations
is a key element of protecting
native fish.
• Reduce the use of wild fish
for fish feed. Some types of
aquaculture, particularly
salmon aquaculture, use large
quantities of wild-caught fish as
feed ingredients. Increased
catches of small fish for use in
feed would reduce the amount
of food available for wild preda
tors such as large fish, marine
mammals, and seabirds. The au
thors call for greater federal re
search to identify alternatives to
the use of wild fish for fish feeds,
and the cultivation and promo
tion of noncarnivorous aquacul
ture species.
In addition to these recom
mendations, the authors also
propose several additional steps
to limit the current impacts of
aquaculture:
• Develop strong effluent
qualifying gross income cannot
exceed $2 million.
FSA is currently accepting ap
plications for NAP coverage for
2001 crops. Farmers who sus
tained weather-related crop dam
age to a 2001 NAP crop and
timely reported acreage and
losses may be eligible for cover
age.
Verifiable or reliable records of
production must be submitted to
the administrative FSA office no
later than the final acreage re
porting date for the applicable
crop in the immediately following
crop year. The application period
for 2001 crops will end 30 days
after the Federal Regulations are
published.
Producers with noninsurable
crops should contact the Dau
phin County office at 1451 Peters
Mt. Rd., Dauphin, PA 17018,
phone (717) 921-2378 or visit
FSA on the World Wide Web at
http:/www.fsa.usda.gov.
guidelines for aquaculture under
the Clean Water Act, particu
larly for larger-scale aquacul
ture pens that discharge wastes
directly into coastal waters.
• Put in place an environ
mentally protective federal per
mitting program for offshore
aquaculture before this develop
ing segment of the industry be
comes established.
• Champion research and de
velopment investments and
cost-share incentives for sustain
able aquaculture practices, such
as recirculating on-land sys
tems.
• Seek greater environmental
sustainability through the
World Trade Organization, with
the goal of allowing environ
mental considerations in the
production of traded-food com
modities to play a far larger role
in trade decisions.
The Pew Oceans Commission
is an independent group of lead
ers, led by former White House
chief of staff Leon Panetta,
which is conducting a national
review of the policies needed to
restore and protect the oceans’
living resources. The commis
sion includes leaders from ocean
research, fishing, conservation,
industry, and government.
The marine aquaculture
report is the second in a series of
scientific reports that will assist
the independent commission
with its review. In addition to
aquaculture, the commission is
reviewing coastal development,
marine pollution, fishing, inva
sive species, ocean governance,
and marine protected areas. The
commission will issue its formal
recommendations to the Presi
dent and the Congress next year.
Copies of “Marine Aquacul
ture in the United States: Envi
ronmental Impacts and Policy
Options,” are available online at
www.pewoceans.org or by call
ing (703) 516-0624. To receive a
PDF version via e-mail, contact
Justin Kenney at kenneyj®
pewoceans.org.
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