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Expanding coverage for all producers

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As the Administrator of the Risk Management Agency (RMA), I have the opportunity to talk to farmers and ranchers all across the nation about the federal crop insurance program. I am struck by how frequently they share with me the same message – that without crop insurance they would no longer be farming.

Crop insurance preserves S.D. farm economy

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Crop insurance is a unique public-private partnership that not only supports farmers, but eases the burden on taxpayers. Prior to the emergence of crop insurance as the top risk management tool for farmers, natural disasters regularly resulted in very expensive, unbudgeted ad hoc disaster bills from Congress.

Trust the ag lender, crop insurance cuts would most harm family farms

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An average family farm in the panhandle of Texas farms between 1500 to 2500 acres and must borrow $500,000 to $1 million each year to produce a cotton crop. Because of the low price of cotton and the high input costs in 2015, many had farm losses exceeding $150,000.

Farm policy, crop insurance wise investments for all Americans

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The financial situation for many farming operations all across the country has deteriorated fast and many lenders are nervous about providing financing. This is why we need strong farm policy and crop insurance to help us manage things beyond our control like a natural disaster or a collapse in commodity prices.

Crop insurance is vital component to U.S. agriculture industry

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The public needs to understand that growing food is a very risky business, and farmers are price takers, not price makers. Every year, the people who produce our food face numerous risk factors, like weather, high input costs, and the global market, for which they have no control over.

Farm policy is essential to maintaining ag production in the U.S.

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Crop insurance is something we purchase each year to manage this risk and we only receive an indemnity when we suffer a verifiable loss. Even then, it doesn’t make us whole, but it does soften the blow from a bad year.

Insurance on crops boosts farms of all sizes

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Because every farmer of every size in every part of the country can purchase crop insurance, the risk pool is large and diverse, which makes crop insurance affordable for all farmers and minimizes the financial exposure of the bank, the farmer and the taxpayer.

Crop insurance is money well spent by farmers

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Many folks might not realize this, but the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill was a turning point in American history, from an agricultural perspective. Largely gone are the days of government support programs like direct payments.

Crop insurance can help keep multi-generational farms within the family

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The agriculture economy is struggling. Farm income continues to decline, crop prices are down and inputs continue to rise. The 2015-16 farm year may be a make or break year for many farmers who are ending the year in the red.

Keep crop insurance out of the crosshairs

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Farmers are the engines that drive the economy of rural America, and without a sufficient safety net in place – like crop insurance – that entire equation is at risk.