Due to the recent outbreak of fires in Colorado, Southwest Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, the Risk Management Agency (RMA) has received requests to allow additional time for policyholders to report their acres for short rate eligibility. Record-breaking fires in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas have resulted in loss of homes, livestock, feed, lost and injured livestock, and infrastructure. Policyholders affected are dealing with the devastating impact caused by the fires and therefore, may not have the ability to advise their crop insurance agents whether they chose to graze out their wheat acres or take them to harvest as grain by the existing deadline of March 15th.

Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) may permit insured producers, where the current date is March 15, 2017, to report their wheat acres for short rate eligibility until March 24, 2017, in the counties listed below and those counties contiguous to those listed below that may also have been directly impacted by the fires:

Colorado:	Logan and Phillips
Kansas:	Barber, Cheyenne, Clark, Comanche, Ellis, Ellsworth, Ford, Harvey, Hodgeman, Kiowa, Lane, Lincoln, McPherson, Meade, Ness, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Rooks, Russell, and Seward
Oklahoma:	Woodward, Harper, and Ellis
Texas:	Hutchinson, Roberts, Hemphill, Potter, Carson, Gray and Wheeler

Insured producers in the identified or contiguous counties as noted above that do not report acres by the March 24, 2017, deadline for a reduced premium rate may still graze out their wheat; but, are reminded to contact their crop insurance agent so the acres can be appraised and released.