President’s Budget Promotes Crop Insurance
February 6th, 2007 by David Graves
The president’s FY2008 budget for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released this week promotes the crop insurance program by stating that “The Federal Crop Insurance Program provides an important safety net that protects producers from a wide range of risks caused by natural disasters, as well as the risk of price fluctuations.” The budget statement goes on to say, “The Federal Crop Insurance Program provides a critical means of support for USDA Strategic Goal 2,” which is defined as ‘Enhance the Competitiveness and Sustainability of Rural and Farm Economies.’
Information contained in the president’s budget indicates the crop insurance program is expected to provide about $68 billion in risk protection for America’s farmers in 2008, covering about 288 million acres, which represents about 80 percent of the Nation’s acres planted to principal crops. About half of the policies include revenue insurance features which provide protection against both a loss of yield and a decline in commodity prices.
Although participation in the Federal Crop Insurance Program is voluntary, farmer enrollment is encouraged through premium support by the government and, as the above data suggests, they have responded very well. The result is that today’s Federal Crop Insurance Program is a successful three-way partnership that includes the federal government, the nation’s farmers and private insurance companies and agencies. Public policy initiatives should be pursued to continuing building the Federal Crop Insurance Program as an effective risk management tool for all of the nation’s farmers, ranchers and growers.
Your comments are welcome.