Vilsack proposes crop insurance cuts

Will a $4 billion cut in the cost of crop insurance in 10 years be enough for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to fight off pressures within the Obama administration to make other cuts in USDA programs? That seems to be the question after Vilsack’s release of a crop insurance reform proposal that seems intended to satisfy internal Obama administration pressures to reduce the deficit and allay concerns on Capitol Hill that any cuts in crop insurance will reduce the baseline for the 2012 farm bill.