Farmer leaders from across the country called crop insurance their \u201cmost important risk management tool\u201d and said it is essential to keep agriculture strong and bring young farmers into an aging business. The comments were made during a panel discussion at the 2013 crop insurance industry conference in Indian Wells, California.<\/p>\n
Curt Friesen, a member of the Nebraska Corn Board, said his son-in-law, who is currently a university teacher, is coming back to his fourth-generation farm. And given the capital requirements and risk associated with farming today, he said, a strong crop insurance policy will be the key to his son-in-law\u2019s ability to succeed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sees a future in agriculture,\u201d Friesen noted. \u201cI\u2019m excited to bring him back but a little scared because I know times aren\u2019t always going to be this good – crop insurance is going to be critical down the road for me to help him get started.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crop insurance helps highly leveraged beginning farmers qualify for financing, he told the group at the 2013 crop insurance industry conference. Mark Nichols, a cotton grower from Oklahoma agreed, adding it is important for growers of all ages.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our area, whether it\u2019s a guy 25 years old trying to get into farming, or a guy like me in his 50s, it\u2019s not a choice whether we have federal crop insurance,\u201d Nichols said. \u201cOur banks look at it as our main risk management tool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bill Bridgeforth, chairman of the National Black Growers Council, knows first-hand why banks look to insurance as a way to protect a farmer\u2019s investment. A fifth-generation farmer from Alabama, Bridgeforth told the group that he \u201chas used crop insurance every year since 1980.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had some pretty good years, and we\u2019ve had some years that, if it hadn\u2019t been for crop insurance, we probably wouldn\u2019t be in business today,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Friesen applauded crop insurers for the speed in which claims were processed following the historic 2012 drought. But crop insurance isn\u2019t just about obtaining financing or surviving disaster, it is also a useful marketing tool, he noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt allows me to market my crop better,\u201d Friesen told the group. \u201cI use it to set a [price] floor. It makes me a lot more comfortable using Chicago Board of Trade futures to market grain. I can market early, I can adjust my positions and I know I\u2019ll have a backstop with crop insurance as my base.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked about critics attacking crop insurance, panelists were quick to defend the public-private partnership, noting its cost effectiveness and the lack of expensive taxpayer-funded ad hoc disaster legislation following the 2012 drought.<\/p>\n
Bing Von Bergen, a Montana wheat farmer and director of the National Association of Wheat Growers, also explained that in good years the government makes underwriting gains on crop insurance because farmers pay premiums.<\/p>\n
He criticized legislative attempts to reduce crop insurance participation by attaching arbitrary benefit caps, income limits and duplicative conservation compliance mandates to the program. Such attempts, he said, could wind up increasing premium rates for all farmers.<\/p>\n
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Farmer leaders from across the country called crop insurance their \u201cmost important risk management tool\u201d and said it is essential to keep agriculture strong and bring young farmers into an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":4065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-farm-policy","category-whats-cropping-up"],"yoast_head":"\n