News Archive

2009

February

You can't afford to ignore ACRE
Linda H. Smith, AgWeb.com — February 28, 2009
Don't write off signing up for the new ACRE program because you don't want to bother comparing it to traditional programs, urges Carl Zulauf, Ohio State University Extension economist. Compare the two program suites: ...

U.S. farmers face shrinking markets, subsidy woes
Russell Blinch, Reuters — February 26, 2009
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American farmers will face shrinking export markets and sharply retreating prices this year while some of the richer ones will fight to hang on to long cherished subsidies... Obama also sought elimination of cotton storage payments, reduction in the crop insurance subsidy and reform of a program to build overseas markets for U.S. goods. ...

Crop Insurance Subsidies Cut in Budget Proposal
Lavonne Kuykendall, WallStreetJournal.com — February 26, 2009
CHICAGO -- Insurers that administer the U.S. Agriculture Department's crop insurance program will see their federal paycheck cut by $5.2 billion over the next decade, as the Obama administration looks to cut waste... The White House is proposing to cut spending on farm subsidies by about $2 billion annually by, among other things, imposing a tougher means test on growers and trimming subsidized crop insurance. ...

Crop insurance coverage for land emerging from CRP important
High Plains/Midwest Ag-Journal — February 13, 2009
Federal crop insurance policies require that acreage must have been planted and harvested in at least one of the three previous crop years unless such acreage was left unplanted in order to comply with any other USDA program. Therefore, acreage coming out of a Conservation Reserve Program contract would be insurable. ...

Extra crop insurance "homework" paid off last year
Enterprise units expected to be popular in 2009
Sara Wyant, High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal — February 13, 2009
...In some cases, Nebraska farmers experienced little or no yield loss, marketed soybeans for between $12 to $15 per bushel and still received crop insurance payments of $95 per acre or more, says Ruth Gerdes, a crop insurance agent with the Auburn Agency, Auburn, Neb. Gerdes says that the payouts vary, but 99 percent of her customers in the nine states she serves buy some type of revenue-based policies and reaped the benefits this year. ...

Crop Insurance Has Some Changes for 2009
Iowa State University Extension News — February 6, 2009
"Producers should carefully calculate their insurance coverage needs before meeting with their crop insurance agent this year. Higher input costs and lower indemnity prices mean farmers will have to choose a higher percentage level of coverage to protect their costs of production." ...

Insurance options for farmers can help protect revenue in 2009
Duane Griffith, MSU Extension Farm Management — February 4, 2009
"As farmers and ranchers finalize production and marketing plans for 2009, many expect declining revenue for small grains and livestock commodities. Two options that may help producers protect against price/revenue declines in 2009 are Crop Revenue Coverage (CRC) and AGR Lite, a relatively new USDA insurance product. Both of these insurance products can help minimize the impact of price decreases, especially for grain growers." ...

Crop Insurance Questions
Retha Colclasure, KFYR-TV — February 2, 2009
"February has barely begun, but farmers across the state are already looking towards spring planting. But this year won't be as easy to figure out what crops to put in the ground. And that's making it harder for farmers to figure out what they should get crop insurance for." ...

Wheat Farmers Worry About Crop
Kara Sewell, KWCH — February 2, 2009
"Lush and green and can hardly see the top soil," says Bob Hay. In February, that is what a wheat crop is supposed to look like, instead. "It looks like dirt," says Hay." ...