Insurance Basics: Value Matters
Here’s a hypothetical situation to ponder: In 2010, you purchased a brand-new car for $30,000. Since then, you’ve driven 100,000 miles, worn out a couple of sets of tires, and accumulated an impressive collection of dents, scrapes, and pings. Now, that five-year-old vehicle is worth $10,000. Unfortunately, you’re in a wreck and total the car.
ICYMI: Farm policy is essential to maintaining ag production in the U.S.
Agri-Pulse March 23, 2016 If there is one place that, in recent years, overwhelmingly demonstrates the need and importance of U.S. farm policy, it is California. For the past four years, this top agricultural producing state has experienced record drought conditions and for farmers like my husband and me, it has taken a toll on
Crop Insurance is a ‘Well-Run’ Public-Private Partnership
The role of federal crop insurance has grown significantly through the years and it is now the key risk management tool for farmers all across the country. With this greater role comes a greater responsibility to ensure the program is working as efficiently and effectively as possible. Part of this responsibility includes making certain that
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I use crop insurance as a safety net to protect my assets in case of a fallout disaster. Younger producers use it to go to the bank to borrow for operating loans and tell them, ‘I’m protected.’
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I use crop insurance as a safety net to protect my assets in case of a fallout disaster. Younger producers use it to go to the bank to borrow for operating loans and tell them, ‘I’m protected.’
Insurance Basics: The Risk Pool
All insurance, from auto to life, health, and crop insurance, works best when it expands the number of people it covers. That’s because the broader the participation, the more widely risk can be spread. And by spreading the chance of loss among a diverse group of insureds, premiums become more affordable for everyone involved. This
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Insurance not only allows farmers to face natural disasters and damaging production years without losing everything, but it provides assurance that we can make payments to our banks. The same way any person in this country cannot get a house loan or a car loan without proof of insurance, agricultural banks want the guarantee that
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Farmers buy crop insurance for the same reason drivers purchase auto insurance: it offers some degree of stability in times of disaster. Crop insurance has become, in essence, the nation’s insurance policy for the food supply. When Mother Nature strikes and farmers lose their crops, those with crop insurance policies in hand can bounce back
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Farmers buy crop insurance for the same reason drivers purchase auto insurance: it offers some degree of stability in times of disaster. Crop insurance has become, in essence, the nation’s insurance policy for the food supply. When Mother Nature strikes and farmers lose their crops, those with crop insurance policies in hand can bounce back
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Crop insurance and farm policy enables everyone – from the farmer to the banker to the taxpayer – to plan for those disasters and overcome them when they happen. If lawmakers continue to try and chip away at this safety net, farmers will not have the ability to survive. This is especially true for young,
CROP INSURANCE IN ACTION: Greg Wegis, Bakersfield, California
Greg Wegis’ great-grandfather established their multi-generational farm in the early 1900s and the have been farming in Bakersfield, California ever since. Wegis grows almonds, pistachios, tomatoes, corn, wheat, alfalfa and cherries and he plans to start growing table grapes in the near future. “I have a passion for what I do,” Wegis said. “Being raised
Economists Discuss Farm Policy Amid Falling Crop Prices
(INDIAN WELLS, Calif.)—The U.S. Department of Agriculture, last week, warned that farm incomes would again fall in 2016 because of low commodity prices, continuing a troubling trend in recent years. Top agricultural economists echoed that sentiment yesterday and explained how this reality underscores the importance of farm policy. “It’s pretty tough sledding out there right
ICYMI: Insure our food supply and our economy
The Desert Sun February 14, 2016 If you have a car, you have auto insurance to protect against property and bodily harm. If you own a house, regardless of its size, you have insurance to guard against costly damage. Chances are good you have policies on your health and even your life, too. These forms
Crop Insurers Celebrate Past Success, Set Sights on Future
Crop insurers and farmers have shouldered their share of challenges in recent years, ranging from an historic drought to lower-than-expected financial returns, legislative debates, and implementing a new Farm Bill. But Tim Weber, chairman of the American Association of Crop Insurers and National Crop Insurance Services, said today that those challenges have only strengthened crop
USDA: Public-Private Partnership has Strengthened Crop Insurance and Reduced Waste
(INDIAN WELLS, Calif.)—The current crop insurance system, which depends on cooperation and coordination between private-sector insurers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is working well and serves as an example of how effective such partnerships can be. That was the message delivered yesterday by Brandon Willis, administrator of the USDA’s Risk Management Agency, at
Senate Ag Chair Encourages Greater Outreach, Education to Counter Attacks on Crop Insurance
(INDIAN WELLS, Calif.) — The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Nutrition addressed crop insurers during the annual meeting of the American Association of Crop Insurers and the National Crop Insurance Services and pledged to “preserve, protect, and defend” this public-private partnership against the challenges ahead. During his keynote speech, Sen. Pat
Crop Insurers Celebrate Past Success, Set Sights on Future
Crop insurers and farmers have shouldered their share of challenges in recent years, ranging from an historic drought to lower-than-expected financial returns, legislative debates, and implementing a new Farm Bill. But Tim Weber, chairman of the American Association of Crop Insurers and National Crop Insurance Services, said today that those challenges have only strengthened crop
Crop Insurance is Money Well Spent by Farmers
Many folks might not realize this, but the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill was a turning point in American history, from an agricultural perspective. Largely gone are the days of government support programs like direct payments. In their place, and at the center stage of farm risk management tools, is crop insurance. I had
Insurance Basics: How Crop Insurance Stacks Up to Other Insurance Products
The concept of minimizing risk and financial loss by purchasing insurance is not a new or radical one. People have been doing it for centuries to guard against the financial pain that results from an accident or loss. Americans are most familiar with health, auto, home, and life insurance, because most Americans have experience with
Steve Murray, Arvin, California
Steve Murray is a fifth generation farmer in California’s Central Valley, located in Arvin, just east of Bakersfield. Murray explained that this portion of the United States is the most productive fruit and vegetable farmland in the world, as well as one of the earliest farming districts. These factors help his business, Murray Family Farms,
Crop Insurance in Action: Kenneth Kirschenmann, Shafter, California
Shafter, California is home to 17,197 people and Shafter native, Kenneth Kirschenmann, said that farming is what keeps his community economically sound. Listing just a few ways farming helps his community, Kirschenmann said, “We affect chemical companies that employ a lot of people. We affect the railroad who hauls our products to the East Coast
Crop Insurance in Action: Greg Wegis, Bakersfield, California
Greg Wegis’ great-grandfather established their multi-generational farm in the early 1900s and the have been farming in Bakersfield, California ever since. Wegis grows almonds, pistachios, tomatoes, corn, wheat, alfalfa and cherries and he plans to start growing table grapes in the near future. “I have a passion for what I do,” Wegis said. “Being raised
Crop Insurance in Action: Stanley Wilson, Shafter, California
Almost 100 years ago Stanley Wilson’s ancestors settled in Shafter, California to start their family farm. Since then, the farm has been passed down to Wilson who continues to farm to this very day with the help of his two sons, a son-in-law and several grandchildren. Their operation produces cotton, potatoes, carrots, beans, alfalfa, almonds
NCIS President: “Opponents of Farm Policy Have Bad Memories, Bad Metrics and Misleading Messages”
NCIS President Tom Zacharias took on opponents of farm policy during more than a dozen live interviews at the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Convention in mid-November. “The opponents of farm policy have bad memories, bad metrics and misleading messages,” noted Zacharias, who was referring to the 11th hour budget deal cut in late October
Crop Insurance Industry’s Rate of Return
Crop Insurance Helps Farmers and Ag Lenders Manage Risk
Weather anomalies have challenged farmers since the earliest days of agriculture. A flood, hail storm or drought can leave a farmer without a harvestable crop at the end of the season. In Central Kansas, producers have been fortunate in the fact that they have not had to endure multiple years of drought or poor production.
Crop Insurance Helps Farmers and Ag Lenders Manage Risk
Weather anomalies have challenged farmers since the earliest days of agriculture. A flood, hail storm or drought can leave a farmer without a harvestable crop at the end of the season. In Central Kansas, producers have been fortunate in the fact that they have not had to endure multiple years of drought or poor production.
CROP INSURANCE IN ACTION: Mike Quinn, Garner, North Carolina
If there’s anything the droughts of 2011 and 2012 taught American farmers, it’s the importance of being prepared for anything. That includes occasional years of dealing with dry conditions trying to grow the Carolinas’ homegrown cotton crop. Michael Quinn, the president and CEO of Carolinas Cotton Growers Cooperative, Inc., has witnessed how both droughts and
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The United States learned through experience that handling natural disasters after the fact is not only destabilizing for farmers but expensive for taxpayers. To encourage more farmers to purchase crop insurance – thus laying their personal risk management groundwork before a possible disaster – the government began helping discount premiums to ensure that coverage is
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The United States learned through experience that handling natural disasters after the fact is not only destabilizing for farmers but expensive for taxpayers. To encourage more farmers to purchase crop insurance – thus laying their personal risk management groundwork before a possible disaster – the government began helping discount premiums to ensure that coverage is
Matt Fisher, citrus grower, Delano, California
Steve Murray, farmer, Bakersfield, California
Higginsville, S.C. Farmer: Crop insurance policies are crucial for farmers
As someone who has spent more than four decades managing a fourth-generation farm and the past 10 years building my family’s crop insurance agency, I believe I have valuable perspective worth sharing regarding how essential today’s Federal crop insurance policies are to America’s farmers and consumers. Specifically, I would like to explain how essential the
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In the wake of a devastating disaster, crop insurance offers a lifeline. It is one of the most important, reliable, and cost-effective parts of the safety net here in the United States.
Todd Snider, Crop Insurance Agent
Greg Wegis, farmer, Bakersfield, California
Library of Congress Adds Crop Insurance Website to its Historical Collection
National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) announced today that its website has been selected by the United States Library of Congress (LOC) to be part of America’s historic collection of Internet materials. For nearly two decades, the LOC has catalogued digital materials spanning a variety themes, events, and issue areas with the purpose of capturing records
Technology, Sustainability, and Insurance Essential to Agriculture’s Future
Farmers and ranchers are tasked with producing more food and fiber than ever to meet the world’s growing appetite, and they have to do it while preserving scarce natural resources and dealing with extreme weather and volatile markets. A combination of new technology, smarter farming practices, and government policies will be required to succeed, according
USDA Under Secretary Scuse on Crop Insurance: “I wouldn’t dream of farming without it.”
USDA’s under secretary for Farm and Foreign Ag Services, Michael Scuse, openly admits he didn’t always buy crop insurance on his Delaware farm back in the 1980s and 90s. But today, he wouldn’t consider farming without it. “Back in the 1980s and 90s, you couldn’t give me crop insurance. It didn’t work on my farm,”
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
USDA Secretary Kicks Off International Crop Insurance Conference
Agricultural leaders from more than 30 nations are in America this week to discuss the challenge of feeding a growing world population and how crop insurance can help farmers rise to the task. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack was on hand to welcome the international delegation and provide his perspective. “There are
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As a crop insurance agent who was on more than a few farms the day after Hurricane Katrina struck, I can tell you first hand that crop insurance was a financial lifeline for many farmers. Katrina hit so many farmers who had never before gone through a large-scale natural disaster that wiped out their entire
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As a crop insurance agent who was on more than a few farms the day after Hurricane Katrina struck, I can tell you first hand that crop insurance was a financial lifeline for many farmers. Katrina hit so many farmers who had never before gone through a large-scale natural disaster that wiped out their entire
National Peach Council President Says Young Farmers Need Viable Crop Insurance
National Peach Council President Chalmers Carr said that he wouldn’t be in business today if it wasn’t for crop insurance. “I do not believe that you would find very many willing lenders to participate in loaning to farming operations without crop insurance being a part of it,” said Carr in a nationally distributed National Association
Why Farmers Need Crop Insurance
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 time I
CROP INSURANCE IN ACTION: John Michael Pillow, Yazoo City, Mississippi
John Michael Pillow is a fourth generation Mississippi farmer and spent the first part of his career managing his family’s farm. In 2011, Pillow decided to strike out on his own and become a full-time farmer. “Most of the 3,500 acres I planted that year were in corn, which is a crop whereby most of
CROP INSURANCE IN ACTION: Craig Corbett, Soda Springs, Idaho
Craig Corbett farms malt and seed barley, along with some wheat on roughly 2,800 acres in Soda Springs, Idaho. Corbett has been farming for more than 30 years and loves what he does for a living. “It’s challenging, it seems like something new pops up every day, and it’s great being in a production-oriented business
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
Farmers Help Fund $14 Billion of the Farm Safety Net in 2014
Farmers who filed crop insurance claims in 2014 collectively shouldered approximately $10 billion in deductible losses before collecting any payments, according to new data unveiled today by the National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS). When combined with the $3.9 billion spent to buy insurance coverage in 2014, farmers absorbed at least $14 billion in out-of-pocket costs,
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 curve balls served up by Mother Nature and with the ups and downs of market swings, but many things – like a