New Congressional Ag Leaders Pledge to Protect & Strengthen Crop Insurance, Encourage Teamwork to Address Challenges Ahead

(BONITA SPRINGS, Fla.) — The new leaders of the agriculture committees in Congress addressed crop insurers during the annual meeting of the American Association of Crop Insurers and the National Crop Insurance Services and pledged to protect and strengthen this public-private partnership.

In separate taped videos, Sen. Pat Roberts, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Rep. K. Michael Conaway, the chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, delivered parallel messages explaining how the 2014 Farm Bill made crop insurance the key risk management tool available to farmers.

“Crop insurance is the cornerstone of the farm safety net,” said Roberts. “You have my word to continue to protect, preserve, and improve the number one risk management tool in every farmer’s toolbox.”

They also warned about the challenges ahead and stressed the need to work as a team to stave off attacks.

“The critics of farm policy and crop insurance are not going to go away,” explained Conaway. “Despite some $17 billion in cuts to crop insurance, some are pushing for even more. They bill it as reform, but we all know their real end game is to kill crop insurance.

Roberts added, “Together we must be ready and willing to tell stories of the great successes” of crop insurance.

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