Today’s Harvest Blog

If you grow specialty crops, there’s a new USDA program worth your attention. The Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers (ASCF) Program was designed to help producers navigate the financial pressure many faced in 2025. Rising input costs, ongoing inflation and market disruptions all contributed to tighter margins. This program offers a one-time payment to help offset those challenges. 

Each year, your perennial crop insurance policy will renew by November 20. It is important to meet with your agent each year, prior to this date, to ensure accuracy and alignment in your risk management goals.  

With harvest upon us, apple bins are being filled and moved into storage. While this is a busy time of year for growers, it’s important to ensure you are proactively keeping track of production. We all have different ways to capture production information — whether it be a software with bin tags, hard copy logs from each trucker or sales records. The most important thing is the record keeping is done accurately.  

The Northeast U.S. frequently experiences severe weather, including hail, which can severely damage crops and lead to major financial losses for farmers. Due to the unpredictable nature of hailstorms, crop-hail insurance is a crucial safeguard for agricultural businesses. This type of insurance helps cover losses from reduced crop quality and yield caused by hail damage.