Crop Insurance Helps Farmers and Ag Lenders Manage Risk
Weather anomalies have challenged farmers since the earliest days of agriculture. A flood, hail storm or drought can leave a farmer without a harvestable crop at the end of the season. In Central Kansas, producers have been fortunate in the fact that they have not had to endure multiple years of drought or poor production. […]
History demonstrates the importance of a farm safety net
If my family had kept the farm, I would have been a fourth-generation farmer of a grain operation. But they couldn’t. The ’80s were not kind to us, and my family made the difficult decision to exit the business. They were not alone. Some statistics show public farm auctions numbered around 500 a month during […]
Crop Insurance Policies are Crucial for Farmers
As someone who has spent more than four decades managing a fourth-generation farm and the past 10 years building my family’s crop insurance agency, I believe I have valuable perspective worth sharing regarding how essential today’s federal crop insurance policies are to America’s farmers and consumers. Specifically, I would like to explain how essential the […]
Crop Insurance Helps Farmers Survive Unpredictable Weather All Across the Country
“Frost threatens northern U.S. corn; rains soak southern Plains.” This recent headline says it all. The diversity of American agricultural production coupled with the varied growing conditions across the country and the swings in weather explains why farmers need a safety net. More importantly, it describes why crop insurance is the centerpiece of the farm […]
Farmers in the Northwest Need Access to Affordable Crop Insurance
When the 2014 Farm Bill became law, it marked a pivotal moment in the history of U.S. farm policy. The new Farm Bill eliminated direct payments and reduced some of the price support policies of the past in favor of expanding crop insurance, which allows farmers to purchase varying levels of protection for their crops. […]
Why America’s Cotton Producers Need Access to Affordable Crop Insurance
Crop insurance products were improved in the recent farm bill because Congress recognized that these products are a necessity for farmers, regardless of size. To me, a federally-supported crop insurance policy is defensible because a portion of the product’s cost is borne by the farmer. I am one of those farmers. I raise cotton, […]
No crop insurance would mean no food
We are blessed in this country to have the ability to grow our own food and have enough to export to other nations. In fact, that is what inspired me to farm. I had a passion for growing food and, in the case of my home state of Washington where wheat is a highly exported commodity, […]
Hollis, Oklahoma farmer: Affordable Crop Insurance is Critical
I started farming and ranching with my father and grandfather in southwest Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle 40 years ago, and I am the fourth generation to farm cotton, peanuts, wheat, corn, milo and cattle on our family’s land. I was 17 when I started farming on my own, and although I have four decades […]
Why Farmers Need This Program
I always knew I was going to be a farmer. I grew up learning from my grandfather who turned me loose and gave me a lot of responsibility on his farm from a young age. I was driving machinery by the time I was 10 years old and running my own harvest crew by the […]
Evolution of Farm Policy Benefits Farmers, Taxpayers
Some stereotypes about U.S. farm policy just won’t die. For example, the belief that farmers get paid for not growing; or that benefits just go to big agribusinesses; or that farm spending is out of control. Such criticisms make splashy headlines but are no longer relevant thanks to the significant evolution of farm policy over […]
