Crop Insurance Today August 2016 - 17

Plot leaders are essential to the success of any NCIS loss adjuster school. lessons learned by experienced adjusters with new adjusters; especially why it is important to educate the insured about the procedures and to show the insured what it is exactly that the adjuster will be doing. Crop insurance is not static and changes occur frequently. By attending NCIS sponsored adjuster schools, adjusters are kept up-to-date. The Montana Regional/State Crop Insurance Committee does a very good job of recognizing this fact and they organize an agenda to meet current needs. For example, many producers in Montana are incorporating new crops in their rotations that have not been commonly grown and adjusters need to know how to adjust losses to these crops." Before diving in to this year's scheduled guest speakers, Dean stressed the importance of antitrust compliance, gave an overview of NCIS and the role it plays in the crop insurance industry, provided industry updates and shared a presentation on program integrity. Attendees then shifted their focus to climate change. Dr. Bruce Maxwell from Montana State University (MSU), explained that in order to understand an area's climate, scientists study average weather patterns over the course of 30 years. Dr. Maxwell further showed attendees evidence of how climate patterns have noticeably altered in recent years, indicating a climatic change. He then elaborated how these fluctuations are affecting crops in Montana and across the nation. Next on the agenda was Kerry Yates from Monsanto. Before Kerry began his presentation, he asked attendees to choose three to four points from a list of eight topics so that he could personalize his dialogue to best fit the audience's needs. From there Kerry spoke about crop diseases, crop termination methods, drift and carryover, as well as critics' conflicts of interest. After Kerry's presentation and lunch, attendees enjoyed a special presentation by author and keynote speaker, Russ Cherry, who went over the topic of conflict resolution. Russ discussed points that everyone could relate to when confronting a frustrating situation. He reminded attendees to always "check yourself and ask how full your bucket is" prior to approaching different circumstances. He stated this will help keep feelings and behavior in line when handling conflict. Once Russ finished showing participants Shelly Mills from Valley County Extension spoke about pulse crops, focusing on issues or concerns they may run into when out on the job. how to properly resolve conflict, the rest of the afternoon was devoted to preparing for the in-field crop experience. Shelly Mills from Valley County Extension spoke about pulse crops, focusing on issues or concerns adjusters may run into when out on the job. When Shelly finished training adjusters, two representatives from the Montana State Grain Lab CROPINSURANCE TODAY® 17

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crop Insurance Today August 2016