Hollis, Oklahoma farmer: Affordable Crop Insurance is Critical
I started farming and ranching with my father and grandfather in southwest Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle 40 years ago, and I am the fourth generation to farm cotton, peanuts, wheat, corn, milo and cattle on our family’s land. I was 17 when I started farming on my own, and although I have four decades […]
Why Farmers Need This Program
I always knew I was going to be a farmer. I grew up learning from my grandfather who turned me loose and gave me a lot of responsibility on his farm from a young age. I was driving machinery by the time I was 10 years old and running my own harvest crew by the […]
Evolution of Farm Policy Benefits Farmers, Taxpayers
Some stereotypes about U.S. farm policy just won’t die. For example, the belief that farmers get paid for not growing; or that benefits just go to big agribusinesses; or that farm spending is out of control. Such criticisms make splashy headlines but are no longer relevant thanks to the significant evolution of farm policy over […]
Keep Crop Insurance Affordable
Living through the drought of 2012 as an Illinois farmer gave me a whole new appreciation for risk management tools. There are things that farmers can do to try and deal with the curveballs served up by Mother Nature and with the ups and downs of market swings, but many things — like a massive […]
Former USDA Chief Economist Discusses 40-Year Career, Farm Policy in New Videos
(OVERLAND PARK, Kan.) — Renowned agricultural economist Dr. Keith Collins reflects on his distinguished career and the future of farm policy in a series of videos released today by National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS). Collins spent 32 years in federal service, where he served as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) chief economist to four […]
NCIS President Discusses the Important Role of Crop Insurance
NCIS President Tom Zacharias discussed the growing role of crop insurance as the primary risk management tool for farmers in a recent radio interview with Courtnay Doyle of Dignity Farm Network in southwestern Minnesota. “The 2014 Farm Bill solidified crop insurance as the primary tool for farmers in dealing with production and price swings,” said […]
Give Crop Insurance a Chance to Work
A year after the farm bill was enacted the debate over crop insurance is brewing again. As cost estimates grow for the 2014 farm bill’s commodity program, several members of Congress are calling for program cuts. These congressmen seem to have forgotten that while the farm bill was being debated in 2012, Illinois was at […]
Crop Insurance a Key for Producers
My husband and I have been farming in Southeastern Colorado for more than 40 years, and during that time it’s safe to say there have been a lot of changes not only in farming practices but also in farm policy. The biggest policy change through the years has been the affordability and availability of crop […]
Convo 54
Farmers buy crop insurance to protect their crops from volatile weather and/or crop prices. It gives farmers and lenders peace of mind. The 2014 Farm Bill solidified crop insurance as the primary tool for farmers in dealing with production and price risk. Farmers urged Congress to strengthen crop insurance because it allows them to tailor […]
It’s up to us to explain the importance of crop insurance
It was 2010 and I was expecting to harvest my best crop. I had done everything right and the weather had been kind. Or so I thought. Then on a late October night, it hailed for six hours and what was anticipated to be my best crop year turned into nothing. But the worst of […]
