We have been taught from an early age that humans have four basic needs: food, water, clothing and shelter. Interestingly enough, it is the U.S. farm sector that provides two \u2014 food and clothing \u2014 out of those four needs.\u00a0This fact puts farming and the programs that protect farmers from adversity \u2014 the farm safety net \u2014 pretty high on this country’s priority list.\u00a0Yet farm programs account for just one-quarter of 1 percent of the federal budget, and some are advocating further reductions.\u00a0Though every dime we spend must be scrutinized, dollar for dollar there is not a better investment of taxpayer funds than the U.S. farm safety net.\u00a0Take the federal crop-insurance program, for example. It’s hard to think of a federal program that exacts so much benefit per dollar of federal investment. This amplification is possible because crop insurance combines the best of government and the private sector to help protect farmers from adversity and, therefore, ensure a safe, affordable, ample food supply for our citizens and the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We have been taught from an early age that humans have four basic needs: food, water, clothing and shelter. Interestingly enough, it is the U.S. farm sector that provides two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-news-headlines"],"yoast_head":"\n