Crop insurance changes discussed by House Ag Committee

This week, the House Ag Committee held a hearing on possible changes to the crop insurance system that subsidizes the prices farmers pay to insure their crops against weather loss. 

Tracey Mann, KS - R “Kansas farmers have told me repeatedly that as we look at crop insurance, the next farm bill, let's use a scalpel and not a sledgehammer. Less makes some tweaks, less work to improve it. But let's acknowledge that what we have is a good program.”

Alex Offerdahl, Billings, MT: “And so crop insurance today is a critical part of the agricultural safety net it's relied on by farmers, by lenders and by rural businesses in every part of the country. No USDA program reaches more farmers and more crops in more counties than crop insurance.”

Both members of the committee and speakers expressed concerns about proposals to use crop insurance subsidy rates to encourage adoption of conservation practices.

Austin Scott, GA - R: ”The proposals that come before this committee by groups on the far right and the far left that would effectively disincentivize those farm families to purchase crop insurance are detrimental to the whole ag industry and the food supply of this country.”

Kathy Fowler, Memphis, TX: “Don't be tricked into pay limits. And AGI means testing on crop insurance under the idea that this will help small farmers because it won't it will hurt them by raising their premiums and removing the good risk from the risk pool.”

The new Farm Bill is due in 2023. For Market to Market, I’m Peter Tubbs.