Don't panic but act by Nov. 15 is the advice a University of Illinois Extension specialist has for farmers who may have received notice that their claims in the Non-StarLink litigation are deficient.

"You are not alone," said Donald Uchtmann, who authored a report, "StarLink:  What if You Received a Notice that Your Claim is Deficient?" that can be found at Extension's farmdoc website at:  http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu/ and by clicking on the article title.  "It appears that many notices like this have been received by farmers across the Corn Belt."

The claims were filed this summer and were to compensate farmers for the alleged drop in U.S. corn prices for the 2000 crop.  The price drop was allegedly caused by traces of StarLink corn, which was approved for feed but not food use, being discovered in taco shells and other foods.  Approval of a claim will result in payment of a dollar to two per acre, maybe more, for a farmer's year 2000 corn harvested for grain.  The companies that developed and sold StarLink are the source of the compensation.

"In many cases, these notices were triggered by a perceived 'technical problem' encountered by the Non-StarLink Litigation Claims Administrator while reviewing the claim," he said.  "Resolving these technical problems may not be very difficult, but it is important that farmers act by Nov. 15."

Uchtmann's article provides producers with a step-by-step approach to understanding the alleged deficiencies and correcting them.

"Some of these are simple problems like missing acreage or the lack of a signature on the claim form," he said.  "Others are not so clear and the letters don't always tell farmers enough about how to fix the problem.

"However, there is additional guidance that unfortunately is not mentioned in the letters producers receive.  There is a toll-free help line that farmers can call for assistance.  The number is 1-888-833-4317."

The first thing producers should do upon receiving the deficient claims notice is read it very carefully and try to understand the perceived problem.  Information on how to do this is available in Uchtmann's article on the farmdoc website.  Examples of how a farmer might respond to the notice are also included.

"Farmers busy in the field might want to ignore a notice received in the mail," said Uchtmann.  "But action by Nov. 15 is important if the farmer is to receive the compensation that has already been set aside for approved claims."