ICYMI: ‘Agriculture, as whole, rose up and said enough is enough’
“Agriculture, as a whole, rose up and said enough is enough,” said Steve Verett, the Executive Vice President of the Plains Cotton Growers.
ICYMI: How the budget deal harms farmers, costs jobs and kills crop insurance
As Congress prepares to vote on a budget agreement that includes cuts to a key component of the farm safety net, Larry Combest, the former chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and the Select Committee on Intelligence, makes clear to lawmakers what is at stake if it comes to pass.
#ICYMI: Crop Insurance Literally Saved My Mississippi Farm
As a fourth generation Mississippi farmer, I grew up knowing that I worked in a field full of risks. When the weather cooperates, prices dive. When prices are great, foreign markets collapse, sending prices into a sudden nosedive. It’s always something. However, it wasn’t until I actually set out on my own in farming in 2011 that I fully understood just how financially exposed farmers are when they put a crop in the ground.
#ICYMI: Cuts to the Farm Safety Net Jeopardize a National Asset
If ever we lose the hard-working independent family farms that take care of the nation’s landscape while producing a diverse set of crops more reliably and efficiently than any farm sector in history, then, and only then will we truly understand the value they provide.
#ICYMI: Political Attacks Endanger Farmers’ No. 1 Risk-Management Tool
Whether you’re a peach grower in South Carolina like me or a corn farmer in Iowa or a cherry grower in Michigan or a cotton farmer in Texas, crop insurance is designed to cover you when disasters strike. And the more farmers buying policies, the better we all are in the long run because that spreads the risk.
#ICYMI: Fight Foreign Subsidies, Don’t Unilaterally Disarm
Unilateral disarmament will do nothing to help U.S. consumers or a U.S. economy that depends on a thriving agricultural sector. It will only reward China and other bad actors, while leaving hardworking American farmers powerless the next time storm clouds gather.
#ICYMI: Crop Insurance helps farmers survive unpredictable weather
This recent headline says it all. The diversity of American agricultural production coupled with the varied growing conditions across the country and the swings in weather explains why farmers need a safety net. More importantly, it describes why crop insurance is the centerpiece of the farm safety net.
#ICYMI: No Crop Insurance Would Mean No Food
A financially healthy rural economy requires a financially healthy farm production sector. And that sector relies on a safety net when catastrophic events happen. It is a modest investment considering the return, which is a stable and affordable national food and fiber supply.
#ICYMI: Why America’s Cotton Producers Need Access to Affordable Crop Insurance
Crop insurance products were improved in the recent farm bill because Congress recognized that these products are a necessity for farmers regardless of size. To me, a federally-supported crop insurance policy is defensible because a portion of the product’s cost is borne by the farmer.
#ICYMI: Evolution of farm policy benefits farmers, taxpayers
Some stereotypes about U.S. farm policy just won’t die. For example, the belief that farmers get paid for not growing; or that benefits just go to big agribusinesses; or that farm spending is out of control. Such criticisms make splashy headlines but are no longer relevant thanks to the significant evolution of farm policy over the past 20 years
#ICYMI: Mr. Xi, and others, tear down these walls
Maintaining a modest response to the cheaters by preserving U.S. farm policy is not only the right thing to do, it is also an essential means of maintaining support for trade and the only leverage the United States has in getting our trading partners to one day tear down the walls they have been so busy building.
#ICYMI: 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 the biggest policy change through the years has been the affordability and availability of crop insurance.