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 […]
Convo 70
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 […]
Convo 69
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 […]
Convo 68
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 […]
Convo 65
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 […]
