NFU Concludes Convention Season in Style

The first quarter of the year is always busy in agricultural circles, with most farming organizations – including the National Crop Insurance Services – holding annual conventions to discuss the issues likely to face farmers in the upcoming year. The National Farmers Union’s show usually completes the pre-Spring meeting circuit, and this year they are doing it with a packed program that kicked off over the weekend. President Barack Obama addressed the group via video. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is there in person. And attendees will also hear from Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D), U.S. Senators Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark.

Amid these headliners will be one of crop insurance’s own, Jim Korin, the president of QBE NAU, who will tell the group why crop insurance must remain affordable, available, and economically viable to succeed in the future.

Crop insurers appreciate NFU’s invitation to address its members, and we certainly appreciate NFU’s support of a strong crop insurance system throughout the years. The organization was an essential component of the coalition that beat back legislative attempts last year to reopen the Farm Bill and weaken farmers’ primary risk management tool.

To say thanks, we wanted to spotlight a couple of great quotes from Farmers Union leaders:

“The evolution to crop insurance has effectively moved risk management away from the public sector, funded exclusively by taxpayer dollars, and toward the private sector, where farmers and crop insurance companies help shoulder part of the cost of natural disasters. This is good for taxpayers because it takes them off the hook for the entire bill when disaster strikes, good for farmers who must always keep their risk management plan in mind, and good for rural America because farmers are the engines that generate economic activity.”

Kent Wright, President Northwest Farmers Union
Capital Press, June 18, 2015

“With three consecutive negative farm income forecasts, we simply cannot afford to undercut the farm safety net. NFU urges Congress to reject…crop insurance cuts, as it has in years’ past.”

Roger Johnson, President, National Farmers Union
NFU Press Release, February 9, 2016

Thanks again for your continued support, NFU members. And have a great show as you close out the farm convention season in style.