2017 was a historic year for crop insurance, with 311 million acres enrolled in the system. During the industry’s annual meeting this week, National Crop Insurance Services chairman Mike Day told the group that insurers backed more than $106 billion worth of crops in 2017, up $6 billion since 2016. And, farmers paid $3.7 billion out of their own pockets for insurance protection, a more than $250 million increase from the year before. Day says crop insurance protects around 90 percent of the insurable land and more than 130 different kinds of crops.
Despite its popularity, according to the industry, some farm policy opponents are angling to cut crop insurance funding in the upcoming farm bill debate. Day says that would be a mistake, pointing out Congress’ efforts to make crop insurance affordable and available for farmers and economically viable enough to encourage efficient private-sector delivery.
Source: NAFB News Service