Family Farms in Iowa Find Crop Insurance Invaluable

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The Swanson family has been rooted in Wapello County, Iowa for over 170 years. Don Swanson and his brother, Bill, grew up watching their fathers work the land. “It’s just a passion that we grew up with,” Don said.

It’s a passion that Don and Bill hope to pass along to their children and grandchildren.

But modern-day farming is more than the inherent satisfaction that comes from harvesting a crop planted from seed or raising the next generation of livestock.

“I wish I had time to do what lay persons consider farming – driving the tractor, feeding the cows,” Don laments. “It’s a full time job for me just managing the books, managing the risk, forward planning and strategic planning.”

National Crop Insurance Services has traveled across the country to talk to farmers and agriculture lenders on the ground to learn what crop insurance means to their farms, families, and communities. For the Swanson family, they would be left vulnerable without the safety net that crop insurance provides.

“Crop insurance protects that bottom line… It’s by far the best government program we have, hands down,” Don said.

Another multi-generation Iowa farmer, Dustin Johnson, enjoys being able to share the rewards of his labor with his children and expose them to the first-hand educational experiences that a working farm provides.

“In a world where technology has kind of taken over, it’s still nice to be able to bring the kids out, ride around in the tractor, get to see first-hand what Dad does every day,” he noted.

When Dustin started farming, the amount of capital required for essential items was daunting. Especially when his income relied not only on his hard work, but the hazards of unpredictable weather, and market fluctuations.

“The risks go way beyond anything that I can control,” Dustin explained. “Which is a really good thing to have crop insurance for.”

Crop insurance gives Dustin the peace of knowing that even in a down year, “we’re still going to have a safety there that we’re going to be able to farm next year.”

For many Iowa towns, agriculture is not only an integral part of the community but also critical to their economic success.

Erica Wuthrich from Bloomfield, Iowa, explains, “The majority of the families around here are farmers… if we didn’t have the farming operations around here, it wouldn’t be good – it would be awful.”

As young farmers, Erica and her husband, Brent, rely on the stability that crop insurance provides in order to keep their farm running. “We don’t make money from it, but it helps us sustain our operation,” Erica said.

Another young Iowa farmer, Colin Johnson, echoes this sentiment, “A component like crop insurance and the assistance that we get, as a young farmer, that helps me know I can continue farming another year. I have been farming for nine years on my own, and… I probably wouldn’t have lasted two years without my crop insurance support.”

Iowa farmers know first-hand that farming does not mean an easy harvest or quick profit. Jared Lyle, Senior Vice President and Senior Loan Officer for Iowa State Bank and Trust in Fairfield, stresses to his agriculture customers the importance of protecting their farms by purchasing crop insurance.

“It’s more a matter of a safety net to keep them from not losing quite as much money and keeping them in business,” Jared explains.

Weakening the public-private partnership of federal crop insurance would be detrimental to the Iowa families that Iowa State Bank and Trust serves.

“There will be less farmers in business for sure, if they lose that safety net,” Jared said. “Ag is very important. I would hate to see anybody underestimate that.”

New Farm Bill with Strong Crop Insurance Becomes Law

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President Donald Trump today officially signed the 2018 Farm Bill, making the five-year bill a law.

The American Association of Crop Insurers, Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau, Crop Insurance Professionals Association, Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, National Association of Professional Insurance Agents, and National Crop Insurance Services issued the following joint statement in response:

 It’s been a difficult year for farmers and ranchers from coast to coast, but rural America is ending 2018 on a high note with this farm bill. The new law keeps crop insurance affordable and widely available for agriculture, and it provides much-needed certainty heading into 2019.

 President Trump and Secretary Sonny Perdue have been vocal champions of the farm safety net and crop insurance, and they helped deliver in a big way for farmers and ranchers with this new law. Likewise, congressional leaders from both parties should be commended for their dedication in passing a bipartisan bill that provides the tools farmers need to manage their unique risks.

Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Congressmen Mike Conaway (R-TX) and Collin Peterson (D-MN) worked tirelessly throughout this farm bill process to make U.S. agriculture stronger. On behalf of the entire crop insurance industry and the customers we serve, thank you.

Crop insurance, which is delivered by the private sector, has become a key component of U.S. farm policy. Each year, farmers spend between $3.5 and $4 billion to purchase protection on the crops they grow, ensuring taxpayers are not shouldering all the risk. When disaster strikes, insurance aid is distributed quickly to help farmers pick up the pieces and plant again.

This year, 1.1 million crop insurance policies provided $106 billion in protection on more than 130 types of crops covering 311 million acres.

Efforts by farm policy critics to weaken agriculture’s primary risk management tool were soundly rejected by Congress, which heeded farmers’ advice to “Do no harm to crop insurance.”

Crop Insurers Comment on Farm Bill Conference Report

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Leaders from the House and Senate Agriculture Committees yesterday released details of the 2018 Farm Bill compromise.

The American Association of Crop Insurers, Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau, Crop Insurance Professionals Association, Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, National Association of Professional Insurance Agents, and National Crop Insurance Services issued the following joint statement in response:

Farmers and ranchers have seen their fair share of challenges in 2018 – from hurricanes, drought and wildfires to depressed commodity prices. The farm bill conference committee took a huge step today in helping them cope with these challenges by releasing a bipartisan package. We urge Congress to pass the farm bill immediately.

The 2018 Farm Bill maintains a strong crop insurance system because lawmakers knew that agriculture’s top risk management tool would be needed during these difficult times. They ensured that private-sector crop insurance would remain affordable and widely available for producers despite attempts by opponents of crop insurance to weaken this critical component of the farm safety net.

We applaud the leaders and members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, and the farm bill conferees, for crafting a comprehensive piece of legislation that has earned the backing of the agricultural community. We also thank our customers, who told lawmakers from Day 1 that protecting crop insurance was a top priority throughout this process.

Once Congress passes the new farm bill, we ask that the president quickly sign it into law, so America’s farmers and ranchers will have some certainty heading into the new year.

Both chambers of Congress will now vote on the pending conference report. If it passes, the 2018 Farm Bill will be sent to the White House for President Trump’s signature.

Eastern North Carolina farmers on long road to recovery after Hurricane Florence

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WALLACE, NC – Justine Price was looking forward to a great soybean crop this fall. His beans were coming in strong, covering the fields of his eastern North Carolina farm in a lush green.

Mother Nature had other plans.

As Hurricane Florence approached the North Carolina coast, he moved his equipment to higher ground and prepared as best he could for what was expected to be a storm with Category 4 winds.

What he wasn’t expecting was the rain. The storm stalled once it made landfall and dumped almost 30 inches on his farm. The river flooded, and water rose to about 5 feet in his garage as Price and his wife moved their furniture to the second story of their home.

Today, piles of debris from the inside of gutted homes lines the street in his hometown of Wallace.

In his fields, brown and rotting soybeans are tangled. Old tires, a refrigerator, gas cans and wooden crates are strewn across another nearby field.

Price spends his time now trying to rebuild, helping his family and loading supplies at the fire department to help with the relief effort. His crops are a total loss.

“I had been smart in my decision making,” he says, “and carried crop insurance, which you know that’s not a salvation but it’s a help.”

Down the road in Mt. Olive, Reginald Strickland faces the same damage. His cotton crop is rotting in the fields and his tobacco is destroyed.

“Every dollar will help,” he says, “because we are going to be in the hole.”

And it’s not just this year. Eastern North Carolina has suffered hurricanes, droughts and low prices for several years running.

The damage left in Hurricane Florence’s wake is a reminder of the reason American agriculture needs a strong, affordable and widely available system of crop insurance. The adjusters will make their assessments and get payments to farmers here much faster than any ad hoc federal relief bill.

“Crop insurance is very important to all of Ag,” Strickland says. “We really need it. We have to have it. It is the only way we can continue to produce the food and fiber it takes to feed the world.”

Price says the payments won’t cover everything and they won’t provide him income until the next crop is harvested. But they will help him farm another season.

For now, he is putting his faith in a higher power.

“Just trust in the Lord,” he says. “That’s the biggest thing.”

Crop Insurance Critical to Colorado Farmers

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National Crop and Insurance Services (NCIS) is on the road this year to speak first-hand with farmers, ranchers and insurance adjusters across the country about the unique challenges they face and the importance of crop insurance. The consensus is clear—crop insurance is one tool that farmers simply cannot do without.

In this What’s Cropping Up, we are pleased to share profiles of farmers and ranchers in Colorado.

Steve Wooten

Steve Wooten operates Beatty Canyon Ranch in northeast Las Animas County. Earlier this year, his family ranch was awarded the Colorado Leopold Conservation Award, which recognizes agricultural landowners actively committed to a land ethic.

Being stewards of the land is something that has always been important to the Wootens, who have made great progress in conservation methods over the years.

But, as Wooten noted, unfortunately, no amount of innovation can protect farmers from variables like weather.  For the last 20 years, persistent drought situations have affected his cow-calf operation.

“Thankfully, today we do have some tools in place to help deal with these types of weather-related risks. One of the most important tools is an efficient crop insurance program for our nation’s farmers and ranchers,” Wooten said.

On Beatty Canyon Ranch, fourth, fifth and even sixth generations are involved in day-to-day operations, and the family’s ranching history stretches back to when Wooten’s great-grandfather immigrated from Ireland. While this may sound impressive, it is not uncommon among farm families.

“We are doing our part, and I urge Congress to do its part by passing a new Farm Bill with crop insurance intact. It, along with our ongoing conservation efforts, will ensure that farmers and ranchers will have a legacy to pass down to future generations,” Wooten said.

Watch his video story here.

Tim Brown

Tim Brown, of Limon, Colorado, is a third-generation farmer. His dad started the farm in 1956. But his father suffered two hailstorms in a row that effectively closed the farm and forced him to work elsewhere.

Brown says he faces some of the same issues today that his family faced when he was growing up, including fluctuating markets, trade issues and, of course, Mother Nature.

“This is the importance of the crop insurance. If we didn’t have the crop insurance, I don’t know what we would do,” Brown said.

Brown noted that many people don’t realize crop insurance only covers a farmer’s costs – at best.

“It just barely covers my cost to put that crop in the ground. Just barely,” he said.

Watch his video story here.

Brad Rock

Brad Rock has been farming in Wray, Colorado, for 20 years. His family grows several crops, raises cattle and runs a trucking operation.

“We do it because we love it,” Rock said. “We get to provide a quality product to the consumer that we feel comfortable growing and raising.”

His son, Alex, went to college and came home to help on the farm, particularly on the technology side. His dad says it is his calling.

But Rock notes that one of the current challenges his family farm faces is an increase in input costs, including seed fertilizer, rent, equipment and employee costs.

“If we were not to have crop insurance and we would lose a crop, we don’t have any way to recoup any of our input costs,” Rock said.

This year, Rock’s farm lost nine quarters of ground, including wheat, sunflowers, millet and corn – all in one afternoon storm. A week later, the farm lost another quarter.

“If we didn’t have (crop) insurance, we would be in a world of hurt,” Rock said. “Not only do we depend on that to pay for our expenses, but we have seven other employees that work for us.”

Programs like crop insurance also help keep food prices low for consumers, Rock noted.

Watch his video story here.

ICYMI: Crop Insurance Helps Preserve Farming for Future Generations

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Farming is a unique profession in so many ways. First, it is more like a calling — to be part of God’s gifts here, and a steward of these gifts. To follow a crop from seed to harvest, or to see an animal born and grow to maturity — that’s a lot of the reason we do what we do.

But farming is different from other professions in other ways as well, including the unique risks and unpredictabilities we face every year. Farmers, for example, are always at the mercy of the weather. A 200-bushel corn crop can quickly become a 50-bushel corn crop under the wrong conditions.

In addition, we face a volatile market and never know which way the pendulum is going to swing. Lately, it hasn’t been swinging in our direction.

Thankfully, we have tools like crop insurance that help us manage risks like these. I feel strongly that crop insurance is critical to preserving our farms for future generations. So strongly, in fact, that in addition to being a farmer, I have also served as a crop insurance agent for fellow farmers for nearly two decades.

In my role as a crop insurance agent, I work with growers to help them purchase protection they need whether they are starting a farm, or preparing for their next crop.

For beginning farmers, having this protection is especially important. Many farmers starting out rely on banks for operating loans and these banks often require crop insurance so that farmers can pay back these loans if they have a bad year.

It has been extremely rewarding for me to work with these young farmers and to play a role in helping them not only get started in business, but stay in business despite the numerous challenges farm country has experienced in recent years.

During the severe drought of 2012, for example, our area had terrible crop yields. That year was hard enough on established farmers, but for beginning farmers I know that having crop insurance played an integral role in their survival.

There are a few misconceptions out there about crop insurance, which have become especially widespread during the ongoing Farm Bill negotiations. But let’s be clear: Crop insurance is not a handout.

Farmers purchase crop insurance out of their own pockets. On average, farmers spend $3.5 to $4 billion per year for crop insurance coverage. Last year in Kentucky, farmers collectively paid $57 million for coverage. As is the case with other types of insurance, we must prove that we have met a deductible to be eligible for a payment for a portion of our loss.

Because of the unique risks involved in farming, the federal government also provides support to reduce the cost to farmers. If we didn’t have this federal support, crop insurance would simply not be affordable for most of America’s farmers and ranchers.

Of note, before crop insurance was widely available and efficient like it is today, the cost of natural disasters fell directly on U.S. taxpayers by way of disaster bills. And they took forever to get to the farm.

I am fortunate to be the eighth generation of my family to farm in LaRue County, although I didn’t inherit family farm land. We purchased our farm more than a decade ago, basically starting from scratch. It hasn’t always been easy, but it is our way of life — our calling. Agriculture has always been the backbone of our country, and I would love for one or all three of my children to carry on this tradition.

In order for that to happen, we have to protect crop insurance.

Jeremy Hinton is a farmer and crop insurance agent in Hodgenville, Kentucky.

This op-ed was published in the Herald News (LaRue County, Kentucky)

Farm Bill Conferees Speak out for Crop Insurance

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Farm Bill conferees from the House and the Senate got together yesterday for a public meeting, and the 56 legislators in attendance were each given three minutes to discuss their priorities.

In the hours of testimony that followed, not a single negative word about crop insurance was uttered.  But, there were plenty of accolades.

Below is a collection of some of what was said about crop insurance.

 “We can all agree that our farmers should have robust risk management tools, including strong crop insurance assistance and new tools for our dairy farmers who’ve been struggling. … I do not believe these critical programs should be targeted for cuts.”

-Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)

 

 “We both start out recognizing that crop insurance is number one, right? So we maintain crop insurance. That’s our number one risk management tool for our farmers on the safety net.”

-Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND)

 

 “We’ve protected a strong safety net by maintaining a crop insurance program that will allow producers to stay competitive and be more innovative.”

-Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA)

 

 “Farm country needs a multi-year bill that protects crop insurance, tightens the safety net, opens markets, and makes responsible investments in our communities.”

-Rep. Roger Marshall (R-KS)

 

The House and Senate bills both maintain “the highest priority of our farmers and that is the maintenance of a good crop insurance program. I heard it at every town hall, every forum, and every conversation with a farmer.”

-Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

 

“As a member of the House Ag committee, I also understand the necessity of this bill in strengthening several key provisions. This includes protecting crop insurance….”

-Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL)

Crop Insurance Helps Preserve Farming for Future Generations

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Farming is a unique profession in so many ways. First, it is more like a calling — to be part of God’s gifts here, and a steward of these gifts. To follow a crop from seed to harvest, or to see an animal born and grow to maturity — that’s a lot of the reason we do what we do.

But farming is different from other professions in other ways as well, including the unique risks and unpredictabilities we face every year. Farmers, for example, are always at the mercy of the weather. A 200-bushel corn crop can quickly become a 50-bushel corn crop under the wrong conditions.

In addition, we face a volatile market and never know which way the pendulum is going to swing. Lately, it hasn’t been swinging in our direction.

Thankfully, we have tools like crop insurance that help us manage risks like these. I feel strongly that crop insurance is critical to preserving our farms for future generations. So strongly, in fact, that in addition to being a farmer, I have also served as a crop insurance agent for fellow farmers for nearly two decades.

In my role as a crop insurance agent, I work with growers to help them purchase protection they need whether they are starting a farm, or preparing for their next crop.

For beginning farmers, having this protection is especially important. Many farmers starting out rely on banks for operating loans and these banks often require crop insurance so that farmers can pay back these loans if they have a bad year.

It has been extremely rewarding for me to work with these young farmers and to play a role in helping them not only get started in business, but stay in business despite the numerous challenges farm country has experienced in recent years.

During the severe drought of 2012, for example, our area had terrible crop yields. That year was hard enough on established farmers, but for beginning farmers I know that having crop insurance played an integral role in their survival.

There are a few misconceptions out there about crop insurance, which have become especially widespread during the ongoing Farm Bill negotiations. But let’s be clear: crop insurance is not a handout.

Farmers purchase crop insurance out of their own pockets. On average, farmers spend $3.5 to $4 billion per year out for crop insurance coverage. Last year in Kentucky, farmers collectively paid $57 million for coverage. As is the case with other types of insurance, we must prove that we have met a deductible to be eligible for a payment for a portion of our loss.

Because of the unique risks involved in farming, the federal government also provides support to reduce the cost to farmers. If we didn’t have this federal support, crop insurance would simply not be affordable most of America’s farmers and ranchers.

Of note, before crop insurance was widely available and efficient like it is today, the cost of natural disasters fell directly on U.S. taxpayers by way of disaster bills. And they took forever to get to the farm.

I am fortunate to be the eighth generation of my family to farm in Larue County though I didn’t inherit family farm land. We purchased our farm more than a decade ago, basically starting from scratch. It hasn’t always been easy, but it is our way of life — our calling. Agriculture has always been the backbone of our country, and I would love for one or all three of my children to carry on this tradition.

In order for that to happen, we have to protect crop insurance.

Jeremy Hinton, farmer and crop insurance agent, Hodgenville, Kentucky

First, Do No Harm

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The Classical Latin phrase Primum non nocere or “First, do no harm,” has long been a part of British and American medical ethics. Congress would do well to heed this maxim when making policy, especially when that policy involves our food supply.

For several years now farm incomes have been down significantly, many farmers are making less than they did in 2013, and news reports over the last six months attribute the on-going stress in the agricultural sector to an epidemic of suicide among our farmers. Given the severe economic conditions for so many of our farmers, the last thing Congress should do is make our farmers’ lives even more difficult by tinkering with public policy in a manner that could make the situation significantly worse.

During consideration of the current Farm Bill, a few loud voices have called for dramatic changes to the public-private partnership system of Federal Crop Insurance that undergirds the rural economy. While all federal programs should be scrutinized on a regular basis to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, the good news is the Federal Crop Insurance program is a high performer on that front and it provides a critical life-line to the Heartland when the farm economy is imperiled by flood, drought, or pestilence.

As a new study published by the Thomas Jefferson Institute shows, it is hard to understate the value of Federal Crop Insurance, which involves a partnership including farmers, who pay insurance premiums, private insurance companies, which bear part of the risk and perform the job of assessing damage and paying claims, and the federal government which acts as a final reinsurance backstop for the program. This partnership is a far cry from former federal policy that put the entire cost of farm policy on the taxpayer.

Having Federal Crop Insurance means that even in the face of natural disaster, next year’s crop can still be planted. That guarantee means that banks are willing to lend to farmers and farmers can purchase seeds, equipment, fertilizer and all the other things necessary to produce the next crop. Federal Crop Insurance protects $100 billion in agricultural products which supports the livelihood of millions of Americans and the health of the rural economy.

From the standpoint of the taxpayer, Federal Crop Insurance represents a good return on investment. Federal Crop Insurance costs approximately $9 billion per-year out of a budget of more than $4.1 trillion, which means that it constitutes roughly one-twenty-fifth of one percent of annual federal spending. In return, we are assured of a continued food supply even in the face of natural disaster and protection for economic activities that constitute more than five percent of the country’s economic output. In human terms, these big numbers translate into thousands upon thousands of jobs not just for farmers but for manufacturers, sales people, nurses, doctors, lawyers, bankers, accountants, teachers and many others across the agricultural Heartland.

Now is not the time to tinker with a program that performs so well and makes sure that we all may eat.

James C. Musser Musser is a Senior Fellow, Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. Previously he served at Special Advisor to the Chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee and also Vice President at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Slicing crop insurance cuts at America’s Heartland

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It’s been a wet spring around my family’s farm. We’re about three weeks behind on planting and, like many of my neighbors in Magnolia, we’re hoping for continued warm weather.

I love this time of the year. This is what it’s all about for a farmer — putting a seed in the ground and raising it all season for harvest.

My family has been doing just that in this part of Kentucky for nine generations. At 31, I’m already a lifer. There’s nothing I’d rather be doing than growing soybeans, corn and winter wheat and raising pigs in a pretty part of the world.

But, lately, the business of farming has been tough. I’m not the only one feeling the pressure. Nationally, farm incomes are down 50 percent compared to what they were five years ago. That’s put a pinch on everyone.
Grain prices are down. So are beef, pork, poultry and milk. Couple all that with the fact that most of your farmland operations, on any scale, have substantial debt loads, and it’s easy to see how people are struggling in farm country.

On the upside, we have a growing global population and I think the future is bright — especially if smart policy decisions are made in Washington. Congress currently is debating the Farm Bill, which is critical to how we plan and run our business.

Crop insurance, which is part of the Farm Bill, has become the main way farms mitigate the risks of uncontrollable weather and unpredictable price swings. It has become the cornerstone of the American farm safety net.

Crop insurance is a lot like life insurance. You don’t ever want to use it. But at the same time, it helps manage through a disaster and helps you stay in business.

The last time we used crop insurance was the drought of 2012. Without it, we would have had a hard time planting our next crop.

Most banks require it nowadays to get an operating loan at the start of the season.

Crop insurance has changed a lot in recent years — offering dozens of policies and coverage options that are as unique as America’s farms. This ability to tailor coverage to fit your individual need and adapt to a changing market is one reason crop insurance has become so popular.

Products such as Harvest Price Option give us modern tools to manage the risks of modern agriculture.

HPO lets us forward market our crops. It protects revenue, not just yields, offering the equivalent of “replacement value” coverage on a car.

As farmers, we’re willing to pay extra for the protection HPO offers because it gives you the faith you need to put your borrowed money in the ground and know you’ll be able to pay it back.

I hope Congress will leave crop insurance alone in the Farm Bill.

Without this essential risk-management tool, a lot of farmers are going to be left holding the bag. Without it, it is going to be hard to incentivize folks to put out crops and produce the food and fiber we need to feed and clothe the country.

Cutting crop insurance would be like cutting the heart out of the heartland. That’s not just bad for farming; that’s bad for everyone.

Caleb Ragland grows soybean, corn, winter wheat and raises pigs with his father and grandfather at Shady Rest Farm in Magnolia. He can be reached at shadyrest08@gmail.com.

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