FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
\nFor more information, contact Laurie Langstraat at 913-685-2767<\/p>\n
(BONITA SPRINGS, Fla.)\u2014Farmers, risk management professionals, government officials, and the lawmakers who made crop insurance the centerpiece of farm policy have a lot to be proud of, and working together to tout those successes will be important to securing a promising future, according to Mike Day, chairman of National Crop Insurance Services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new Administration and Congress have signaled the ushering in of a new pro-business environment in D.C.,\u201d he told colleagues yesterday at the crop insurance industry\u2019s annual convention. And that is good news for crop insurance providers, which work in close partnership with the federal government to help farmers recoup after disasters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe crop insurance cost-sharing structure; its impressive record against waste, fraud and abuse; and its efficient private-sector delivery system should make it a priority with a new crop of decision makers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Day, who heads Rural Community Insurance Services (RCIS) for Zurich North America, said crop insurance is particularly important for rural America today because farmers depend on strong risk management tools when extreme weather and tough economic conditions strike.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s economic climate gives us an excellent opportunity to display just how important the modern-day farm safety net is,\u201d he said, adding that unity among crop insurers and the agricultural community will be key to telling that story.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur critics cannot succeed if agriculture is united and is working hand-in-hand to educate the public,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe saw this first-hand during the budget battles of late 2015, and we are already seeing agriculture rally behind crop insurance in preparation for the upcoming Farm Bill debate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Such support for crop insurance is not surprising. More than 90 percent of America\u2019s farmland was insured in 2016, protecting $100 billion worth of crops. And farmers paid $3.4 billion out of their own pockets to buy protection \u2013 a far cry of past farm policies that were completely funded by taxpayers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we embark on our educational efforts, we must convey that crop insurance works because it is affordable for producers, because it is widely available, and because it is economically viable,\u201d Day concluded. \u201cUpset any of those components, and the entire crop insurance infrastructure is in disarray.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Farmers, risk management professionals, government officials, and the lawmakers who made crop insurance the centerpiece of farm policy have a lot to be proud of, and working together to tout those successes will be important to securing a promising future, according to Mike Day, chairman of National Crop Insurance Services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":8136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases"],"yoast_head":"\n