Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 17, September 10, 2024
A.
Investigation of damage claims for any trees shall be conducted jointly by the
claimant and the Division. Documentation prepared by the claimant shall be
conducted according to the following procedures:
1. Determination of Physical Damage by Type
and Percentage.
a. Damage will be designated
in the following manner:
(1) Bark Damage
shall be considered only when it has penetrated the bark and cambium layer to
the inner wood. Injury of each damaged limb or tree shall be determined on the
basis of the width of the exposed wood in relation to the circumference of the
damaged limbs or trunk. Damage which does not expose more than 33% of the wood
around the limb or trunk will not be considered as serious damage resulting in
significant loss of production. Damage that exposes 60% or more of the inner
wood shall be considered serious enough to cause total loss of commercial fruit
production from the damaged limb or tree in the case of trunk injury. All areas
damaged by big game shall be treated with a wood sealing compound, such as
"Greencap" or its equivalent, which shall be provided by the Division. Bark
damage shall be assessed as:
0-33% = none
34-49% = 33% loss
50-59% = 65% loss
60 and over = 100% loss and calculated pursuant to the
formulas set forth in #1752.
(2) Browse damage results from loss of
shoots, spurs and blossom buds. Damage shall be determined for each damaged
side branch (branch), scaffold limb (limb) and tree with the extent of damage
assessed as:
(a) Short term when damage
affects only the terminal and blossom buds, resulting in loss of fruit
production on apple and pear for two (2) years and on stone fruits (cherry,
apricot, peach and plum) for one (1) year.
(b) Long term when damage affects the growth
of limbs and development of the tree structure. Such damage has a longer
lasting effect which requires determining the number of years for the limb or
tree to achieve the size and productivity of comparable undamaged limbs and
trees.
(c) Permanent damage can be
caused by either severe barking or browsing. Such damage can result in the loss
of limbs or trees. Where tree replacement is required, both the cost of removal
and replacement of trees shall be paid. When 85% of the trees in the planting
sustain 60% or more damage, the entire planting shall be considered as 100%
loss, requiring replacement.
2. Determination of Percentage Lost of
Production:
Damage shall be defined as a loss of production potential.
Production is proportional to the number and physical size of all the branches,
limbs and trees in the planting. This physical size increases as branches and
limbs develop and as the tree enlarges to fill the amount of space allotted by
planting distance. When the trees have completed this growth or development
period, they are considered full size and reaching full production potential.
After a few years at this maximum level of production, tree vigor, fruit size
and market quality begin to decline. This results in reduced productivity and
income. Using the above concept, assess any loss as a percent reduction in
production potential during the years required for the damaged limbs and/or
trees to redevelop the production potential of comparable undamaged
trees.
a. Short Term browsing damage
will be proportional to the percent of damage. For stone fruits this will be
for one (1) year. For apple and pear, the percentage loss will be reduced by
50% the second year before regaining full potential in the third
year.
b. Long Term damage can
result from either browsing or barking. Damage shall be assessed as a percent
loss of production potential over a period of years. Loss in the first year
will be proportional to the percent of damage but this percentage of loss will
decrease each year at a rate proportional to the anticipated recovery period.
The percentage of loss will be assessed in relation to comparable undamaged
branches, limbs or trees, preferably in the same planting. With developing
trees, the number of years to recover will be the number of years remaining to
reach full size and full production. Developing apple and pear should close the
spacing between trees at an average rate per 5 ft per year while with stone
fruits the average rate will be 2.0 feet per year. Damage to mature trees
should be assessed as either short term damage as outlined above in (a) or as
permanent damage as outlined below in (c).
c. Permanent damage caused by either a loss
of limbs or trees should be assessed as a percent of production over the
remaining commercial life of the planting. For trees which need to be replaced
as a result of permanent damage, the number of years of lost production shall
equal the number of years required to regain the production level of undamaged
trees. When tree replacement is required, the damage assessment shall include
the cost of removing and replanting. When a group of trees are replaced which
can be managed separately, the amount of savings resulting from reduced
operating costs shall be determined and deducted from the damage
claim.
3. Conversion from
Percentage to Numerical Crop Loss:
Many factors cause changes in crop production from year to
year as well as between trees and plantings. Therefore, it is necessary to
assess damages as a percentage of the production potential of the orchard. The
percentage crop loss must then be converted to a numerical crop loss for each
year of the recovery period. This requires determining the proportion of the
planting which is damaged. Such can be determined either by planting distance
and number of trees per acre or by the percentage of damaged trees to the total
number of trees in the planting.
a.
Numerical crop loss shall be based on a percentage of the production over the
previous five (5) years or from comparable plantings of the same variety, tree
spacing, age and level of management when actual production records are not
available.
b. For trees which are
not in production or did not reach full production during the previous five
years, estimates must be based on comparable plantings which have recently
reached full production.
c.
Numerical lost production shall be tabulated for each year of the recovery
period and for each planting, crop and variety damaged.
4. Determination of Annual Loss of Income:
Income to the orchard depends on the amount of fruit
produced and its market value. This differs from season to season, between
crops and varieties, between growers and even between plantings. Therefore, the
value of any crop must be determined based on records of the average income
over the previous five (5) years. Where such records are not available,
estimates must be based on income to comparable plantings and level of
management. This income assumes that all charges have been deducted such as
storage, packing, and sales. This income must be further reduced by an amount
equal to the cost of harvesting and hauling the lost production since such
costs would not be incurred.
The orchard income (less cost of harvest and handling) when
divided by the total number of units of production represents the value of each
unit of lost production. This unit value is then multiplied by the number of
units of lost production to determine the annual loss of orchard income over
the recovery period.
5.
Determination of Costs Due to Tree Replacement
When damage is sufficient to require tree replacement,
adjustments shall be made not only for the loss of income but also for any
added costs of replacement and savings due to reduced annual production costs
on the following basis:
a. Replacing
occasional trees in a planting requires the determination of added costs of
removal, purchase of trees and planting. Other possible added costs and savings
shall not be considered.
b.
Replanting sufficient numbers of trees in a block permits management as a
separate planting. Reduced are such operational costs as pruning, bee rental,
fruit thinning, fertilizer and insect, mite and disease control during the
re-establishment period. The claimant should provide sufficient cost records to
verify those cost savings for each of the re-establishment years. Such
determinations shall be made before receiving any compensation for lost income
and added costs of removing, purchase of trees and
replanting.
6.
Determination of Present Value of Orchard Losses
Income received today, in payment for lost future
production, must be discounted according to the appropriate rate of interest on
that money and the number of years of advanced payment for future lost
production. The appropriate discount rate from Table B in regulation No. 1754
must be applied for all but the first year of lost production. Different
discount rates shall be used depending on the number of years for the orchard
to recover lost production.
