Crop insurance funding is once again on the chopping block following the unveiling of President Barack Obama’s latest budget and the upcoming release of farm bill drafts in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Last year’s farm bill debate saw previously stalwart defenders of farm subsidies agree to dramatic cuts in agricultural payments to farmers. In exchange for eliminating or reducing several major subsidies, farmers and agricultural representatives received significant increases in crop insurance funding, a major net gain for many farmers.
Despite the best efforts of farm politicians and farm advocacy groups, however, the 2012 Farm Bill stalled in the House, leaving farmers with a temporary extension of the last farm bill.
With the extension about to expire in a few months, Congress is reconsidering the farm bill, putting the issue of crop insurance funding back to the forefront of American politics. In his recently proposed budget, President Barack Obama suggested some significant cuts to crop insurance funding. In addition, a series of environmentalist organizations have come out against crop insurance, arguing that these programs encourage the production of non-sustainable cash crops like corn or soybeans.
Farmers, however, are willing to go to the mat for crop insurance, especially after last summer’s devastating drought that crippled production across the Midwest.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer