E-mails have been flying fast and furiously into Art Barnaby's computer since news broke this fall that soybean rust was found in the United States for the first time ever.

Barnaby, an agricultural economist and crop insurance specialist with Kansas State University Research and Extension said that soybean growers want to know how and if crop insurance will cover any losses linked to soybean rust.

"My short answer," he said, "is, if growers spray (fungicide), but it still doesn't work, then the insurance will cover the loss." He went on to encourage growers, however, to look to the land grant university in their state or to a crop consultant for guidance on the particulars regarding what, when and if they should treat their fields next year.

"If growers follow those recommendations and yields still suffer, it is very likely the claim will be paid," the economist said.

In September, the Environmental Protection Agency granted emergency exemptions for five products to be used in Kansas. Approved were Tilt, PropiMax EC and Bumper, which contain propiconazole; Laredo EC and Laredo EW, which contain myclobutanil; and Folicur 3.6F, which contains tebuconazole. These are in addition to currently registered products that include Quadris, which contains azoxystrobin, Headline, which contains pyraclostrobin and Bravo 500 and Echo 720, which contain chlorothalonil.

Barnaby said it is crucial for farmers to be vigilant in scouting their fields and treating at the first sign of trouble.

Growers will need to watch for symptoms of the fungus that begin as small lesions on the lower leaves of the infected plant, said Doug Jardine, state plant pathology leader for K-State Research and Extension. These lesions increase in size and change from gray to tan or reddish brown on the undersides of the leaves. If the disease goes untreated, the plant may become entirely defoliated in 10-14 days.

The fungus resembles brown spot, a common disease in soybean, and the less common bacterial pustule, which might make it a bit difficult to diagnose, Jardine said. Maximum effectiveness of fungicide sprays come from applications made preventatively before infection occurs, said Jardine. Growers who make applications before the disease is present run the risk of not getting a full return on their investment if the disease does not occur, however, he added.

In a Dec. 2 statement, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency said: "Yield losses associated with soybean rust have generally ranged from 10 to 80 percent if the soybean field is untreated. Once the disease invades a field, the window for effective rescue treatments is only about seven days. After a week, the nearly completely defoliated plants' yields are adversely affected."

According to the RMA, losses to soybean production due to soybean rust disease are an insurable cause of loss provided the insured producer can verify that the cause was natural (not agro-terrorism) and that available control measures were properly applied. If there are no effective control measures available or there are insufficient amounts of chemicals available for effective control, resulting loss of production would be covered.

The RMA said yield loss from soybean rust would not be covered if there were sufficient control measures available, but the insured elected not to use them. Failure to purchase and apply recommended control measures will result in uninsurable causes of loss being assessed.

The cost of the spray application is not a consideration, Barnaby said.

"A few years ago a combination of high natural gas prices combined with low corn prices, caused farmers to ask if they could save the pumping cost and collect their crop insurance. The answer was no. The same principle will apply to rust. Farmers cannot save the spraying cost and collect their crop insurance," the economist said.

"It will be critical for RMA and insurance providers to monitor when outbreaks are detected in an area to determine if an insured could have applied recommended fungicides in a timely manner and did not," the RMA said.

For more information on soybean rust, interested persons can visit: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ep/soybean_rust/ and http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/sbr/sbr.html.  Information is also available at http://www.planthealth.info and http://www.soybeanrustinfo.com.
For information about crop insurance visit http://www.rma.usda.gov/news/2004/07/715soybeanrust.html.

The official word on soybean rust and crop insurance

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency (RMA) issued a statement Dec. 2, 2004 regarding crop insurance and soybean rust. It stated:

"Unavoidable loss of production due to plant disease (including soybean rust disease) is a covered peril under the Coarse Grains Crop Provisions, provided it was due to natural causes and not agroterrorism. Section 8 of the Coarse Grains Crop Provisions (7 C.F.R. 457.113) states that, in accordance with the Basic Provisions, insurance is provided against loss of production due to unavoidable causes of loss, including plant disease, but not damage due to insufficient or improper application of disease control measures. Therefore, losses to soybean production due to soybean rust disease is an insurable cause of loss provided the insured can verify that the cause was natural and available control measures were properly applied. If there are no effective control measures available or there are insufficient amounts of chemicals available for effective control, resulting loss of production would be covered.

It will not be a covered loss if there are sufficient control measures available, but the insured elects not to use them. Failure to purchase and apply recommended control measures will result in uninsurable causes of loss being assessed. It will be critical for RMA and insurance providers to monitor when outbreaks are detected in an area to determine if an insured could have applied recommended fungicides in a timely manner and did not.

The current recognized good farming practices for soybeans generally should not be an issue as soybean rust is not a soil borne disease and rotation of crops would not be effective for control. It will be necessary to determine if adequate amounts of approved chemicals were available at the time of an outbreak, and if adequate amounts were available, were they applied in a timely manner to achieve optimum control regardless of the cost involved.


K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus in Manhattan.