Release Notes 16.020.0

These release notes provide brief descriptions of changes included in eHarvest 16.020.0.

System Updates

Forms & Reports

DESCRIPTION ID #

SPOIs were updated and made available from RMA on Aug 24. Special Provisions for 2023 have been downloaded and implemented in the System for API and PRF.

151842

The 2024 Florida (FL) Citrus Fruit with APH (90) Plan Crop Provisions was implemented.

151915

Grove Identification Map and the Continuation Page were updated to support Vineyards for Grapevine.

Changes that were made:

• The version date was updated to "10-2023".
• The title "Grove Identification Map" was updated to "Grove/Vineyard Identification Map".
• The title of the form on the Print menus were updated to include "Vineyard", "Grove/Vineyard".
• A QR Code was added in the bottom right corner of the form, above the page numbers.
• "Grove/Vineyard ID Map" and "Grove/Vineyard ID Map Continuation Page" was added to the Attachment drop list in the MPCI section.

151929

2025 CA Avocado Crop Provisions have been implemented in the System. Provisions print with the MPCI Policy Declaration Page when the print option to print provisions with the form is selected. The MPCI Policy Declaration Page is available to print from the MPCI policy Print tab and from the Batch Printing menu.

152004

Updated 2024 Fresh Market Caneberry Crop Provisions have been implemented in the System. Provisions print with the MPCI Policy Declaration Page when the print option to print provisions with the form is selected. The MPCI Policy Declaration Page is available to print from the MPCI policy Print tab and from the Batch Printing menu.

152006

FCIC released the 2024 Micro Farm Pilot Crop Provisions, and they have been implemented in the System. Provisions print with the MPCI Policy Declaration Page when the print option to print provisions with the form is selected. The MPCI Policy Declaration Page is available to print from the MPCI policy Print tab and from the Batch Printing menu.

151991

2024 WFRP Policy Provisions have been implemented in the System. Provisions print with the MPCI Policy Declaration Page when the print option to print provisions with the form is selected. The MPCI Policy Declaration Page is available to print from the MPCI policy Print tab and from the Batch Printing menu.

151992

FCIC released the 2024 Pomegranate Crop Provisions, and they have been implemented in the System. Provisions print with the MPCI Policy Declaration Page when the print option to print provisions with the form is selected. The MPCI Policy Declaration Page is available to print from the MPCI policy Print tab and from the Batch Printing menu.

151993

The 2025 Macadamia Nuts Crop Provisions was implemented.

151999

2025 TX Citrus Fruit Crop Provisions have been implemented in the System. Provisions print with the MPCI Policy Declaration Page when the print option to print provisions with the form is selected. The MPCI Policy Declaration Page is available to print from the MPCI policy Print tab and from the Batch Printing menu.

152000

2025 AZ and CA Citrus Crop Provisions was implemented in the System. Provisions print with the MPCI Policy Declaration Page when the print option to print provisions with the form is selected. The MPCI Policy Declaration Page is available to print from the MPCI policy Print tab and from the Batch Printing menu.

152001

SPOIs were updated and made available from RMA on Aug 15. The following Special Provisions for 2023 have been downloaded from 2023_SPOI_0630.zip and implemented in the System.

151979

The Actuarial Change Form was updated as requested for all years.

Changes that were made:

• Version date was updated to "10-2023".
• The HR-ACE question was removed and the two questions below it were moved up.
• The closing parenthesis before the question mark in "If no, what other land..." was added.

152490

The filtering column in Private Product policy register caused an error.

An elmah error no longer needs to be created by a user, when sorting fields on the policy register results.

NOTE: Crop, County, and Coverage Level are not sortable fields on the display of the Policy Register results. The user may sort those columns if they wish once they export the results to excel. "

152838

SOI update for Cash Lease private product policies in Michigan.

On Cash Lease private product policies in Michigan, the following disclaimer now prints on the Schedule of Insurance: "This policy is exempt from the filing requirements of section 2236 of the insurance code of 1956, 1956 PA 218, MCL 500.2236."

153018

Livestock

DESCRIPTION ID #

RMA released updated provisions for Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP) Commodity Exchange Endorsement (CEE) for the 2024 crop year and forward.

Changes that were made:

• The 2024 DRP Commodity Exchange Endorsement was implemented.

152483

MPCI

DESCRIPTION ID #

The Online Help Site was updated with topics as well as with current release notes.

151325

A new pilot program for Controlled Environment (CE) is available to Nursery producers for the 2024 RY.

Changes that were made:

• Controlled Environment support was added to the quote, policy, and coverages pages.

149303

RMA expanded the Quality Loss Exclusion Option (QL) to select perennial crops for the 2024 RY: CA avocados, blueberries, cranberries, grapes, table grapes, peaches, walnuts, plums, fresh apricots, processing apricots, fresh nectarines, processing cling peaches, processing freestone peaches, and fresh freestone peaches.

Changes that were made:

• The QL option that was fully implemented on the annual crop side of the system was extended to the perennial crops added under the expansion.
• QL replacement yields cannot be used when determining whether minimum production requirements have been met.
• QL does not apply to any 'OF' yields within the APH. 'OF' is used for acreage in transition to an organic practice.
• High yield variability testing (Yield Variance, Alternate Bearing, and Downward Trend) can only use actual yields.
• QL replacement yields cannot be used in any of the required testing.

147923

The System was updated to support Grapvine (0270) under Tree Based Dollar Amount for Insurance Plan (Plan 40). The program was modeled after other Tree Based Dollar crop programs like Florida Fruit Trees and Apple Trees.

Changes that were made:

• The Required Questions section, the Block Details section/grid, and the ACREAGE SUMMARY were updated on the Pre-Acceptance Worksheet page accessed from Additional Functions on the Detail Lines tab.
• Plan 40 PAW validations and suspensions were enabled.

151926

Perennials: 2024 RY Davis RO - Update the Higher Yield calculation for almonds in the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th leaf year.

Changes that were made:

• For the 2024 RY, the system triggers a new suspension to account for the expansion of the 5th leaf year under the UG. The RMA procedure requires the 4th leaf year production to be certified but it's not actually keyed into the APH. As a result, the system cannot calculate the Approved APH yield using the RO multiplicative factor. A suspension is triggered to alert the UW of the 5th leaf year acreage that requires review. If a higher yield calculation is appropriate, the UW will manually calculate and apply the yield using the Override Entire APH functionality. The proper Yield Indicator, Yield Limitation Flag, and Special Case Code must also be manually applied by the UW.
• The percentage used to compare the 2023 CY actual yield against the 2022 CY actual yield has been changed from 95% to 85%.

152010

Perennials: 2024 RY Davis RO - Update Downward Trends Test calculations for Almonds and Walnuts.

Changes that were made:

• As outlined in the Davis RO bulletin, the system will step through the CIH tests initially. If the testing determines that Yield Variability is triggered, the system moves on to the Alternate Bearing Tests. If Alternate Bearing A or B is triggered, an adjustment is made according to the CIH procedures. If Yield Variability is triggered but Alternate Bearing is not triggered (or alternate bearing is waived by the CIH), the system moves on to Downward Trend testing. If Downward Trend results warrant a yield adjustment, the RO UG is applied first. The Davis RO UG require 3 additional tests be performed before downward trending adjustment are required. This is where the 2024 RY change comes into play - if the crop is almonds, avocados, grapes, prunes, or walnuts, the 1st of the 3 additional Davis RO tests are waived. If either of the remaining 2 tests are triggered, the Davis RO UG adjustment process is applied using the Downward Trend Factor and Yield Adjustment Factor in the determination of the Approved APH yield. Additional UG direction is provided on the special case codes, yield indicators, etc. that should be set for transmission of the data to PASS.
• All changes have been implemented according to the Crop Insurance Handbook and the Davis RO UG procedures.

152011

Valdosta RO Exceptions for APH Citrus in FL 2024 RY (2025 CY). The Valdosta RO UG extends additional procedures to APH Citrus in the state of Michigan. This includes grapefruit, lemons, mandarins/tangerines, oranges, tangelos, and tangors.

Changes that were made:

• Crop Insurance Handbook procedure requires yield determination apply a series of three different yield variability tests for most perennial crops. The tests include Yield Variance, Alternate Bearing, and Downward Trend. These tests are performed sequentially within the system.
• As outlined in the bulletin, the system will step through the CIH tests initially. If the testing determines that Alternate Bearing or Downward Trend results warrant a yield adjustment, the RO UG is applied and the test are repeated removing the 2023 crop year from the calculations. The variability tests are then performed again without the 2023 crop year. If the Yield Variance (without the 2023 crop year) is not triggered, no further testing is required. If the Yield Variance (without the 2023 crop year) is triggered, the testing continues to alternate bearing and downward trend test. If the Alternate Bearing and Downward Trend tests no longer trigger with the 2023 CY removed, additional special case codes, yield indicators, etc. are applied to confirm the yield would have required adjustments had the Valdosta procedure not been used. Adjustments to the Approved APH yield are only made if the Alternate Bearing or Downward Trend tests (without the 2023 CY) are still triggered. Yield adjustments in this scenario are then applied as outlined in the CIH.
• All changes have been implemented according to the Crop Insurance Handbook and Valdosta RO UG procedures.
• The suspension that already exists for the Valdosta RO UG exceptions was extended to the APH citrus under the scope of this ticket. A suspension will trigger if the state = FL and the crop = APH Citrus. If the system has determined the yields qualified for CIH yield adjustment due to Alternate Bearing or Downward trend procedures but were not applied due to the calculation without the 2023 CY, a suspension will be triggered to alert the UW that additional review is required. The AIP needs to confirm the exclusion of the 2023 CY year was appropriate and within the scope of the bulletin. If it was not, the yield needs to be manually adjusted by the UW with the Override Entire APH. Existing logic allows the UW to flag a policies as 'verified' to bypass subsequent suspensions (this is existing logic with the Valdosta RO UG suspension).

152336

A UI indicator was added to the View High Variability modal to provide clarity when CIH Alternate Bearing Testing is waived.

Changes that were made:

• When the Alternate Bearing Testing is waived due to YE, the system displays in red text, Test Waived - YE Eligible, and was intended to provide a more informational display for the system users.

NOTE: There are select crops that also have Alternate Bearing Testing waived by the CIH procedure. This includes: Stonefruit (fresh apricots 0218 , fresh nectarines 0220, fresh freestone peaches 0223, fresh plums 0092, processing apricots 0219, processing cling peaches 0221, and processing freestone peaches 0222), peaches (0034), figs (0060), table grapes (0052), and grapes (0053). These crops are excluded from the scope of the testing because they do not exhibit alternate bearing tendencies. For these crops, the system just skips the Alternate Bearing A/B testing and does not include a section for this testing at all in the Yield Variability modal display.

152536

Perennials: The High Variability logic was updated to test for Yield Variance if yields are YE-eligible within the most recent 3 years in the base period - 2024 RY+.

Changes that were made:

• A correction of the Yield Variability logic was applied to correctly display the Yield Variance test results any time the Alternate Bearing Test (Test #2) is waived due to YE eligibility. Yield Variability (test #1) is required any time the APH contains 4 or more years actual yields, no break in continuity exists, and no yield descriptor = U is present in the APH.

152541