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 of historic significance that would otherwise be lost because they were never printed on paper.

The NCIS website, www.CropInsuranceInAmerica.org, will be a part of the archived public policy records.

“It is an honor that the crop insurance industry was chosen to be part of this esteemed collection,” said NCIS President Tom Zacharias.“Crop insurance has certainly made history in recent years by emerging as the cornerstone of U.S. farm policy and protecting the country’s farmers from historic floods and droughts.”

NCIS launched the website in 2008 to better explain the benefits of crop insurance to farmers, taxpayers, and consumers, and to demonstrate how the program helps drive the nation’s rural economy.

The site contains videos and testimonials from farmers following disasters; a section called “Just the Facts” that is devoted to answering policy questions with academic research and public data; an electronic version of the industry’s quarterly magazine Crop Insurance TODAY^®, which dissects the issues facing crop insurance; and links to numerous press reports and quotes about the public-private partnership that has made the system such a success.

NCIS announced its selection to the LOC collection during a conference hosted by the International Association of Agricultural Production Insurers (AIAG). Agricultural leaders from more than 30 countries belong to AIAG and are visiting the United States for the first time to learn about U.S. farm policy and to discuss how insurance can help meet tomorrow’s global food challenges.