The federal crop adjuster or the county extension agent shall investigate the loss in a timely manner and shall make a finding in writing on the appropriate part of the claim form regarding whether the crop was destroyed or damaged by elk. The finding must be based on physical and circumstantial evidence including:
any other circumstances considered pertinent by the federal crop adjuster or the county extension agent.
The absence of affirmative evidence may be grounds for denial of a claim.
The federal crop adjuster or the county extension agent shall make a written finding on the claim form of the extent of damage or the amount of crop destroyed. The crop owner may choose to have the federal crop adjuster or county extension agent use the method in item A or B to complete the claim form and determine the amount of crop loss.
To submit the claim form at the time the suspected elk damage is discovered, the federal crop adjuster or county extension agent must determine the potential yield, per acre, for the field and record this information on the form in the column labeled "normal yield" and the average yield, per acre, expected from the damaged acres and record this information on the form in the column labeled "average yield expected from damaged acres."
To submit the claim form at the time the crop is harvested:
the crop owner shall report the loss to the federal crop adjuster or county extension agent within 24 hours of discovery, and the loss must be investigated by the federal crop adjuster or county extension agent in a timely manner;
the crop owner and federal crop adjuster or county extension agent shall complete the claim form at the time of the investigation, entering the percent of crop loss from damage in the column labeled "normal yield" and leaving the column labeled "average yield expected from damaged acres" blank; and
when the crop is harvested the federal crop adjuster or county extension agent shall enter the actual yield of the damaged field in the column labeled "average yield expected from damaged acres," enter the date in the same column, and submit the form to the commissioner.
MS s 3.7371
12 SR 2215
May 1, 1997
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes