A “good driver discount” for crop insurance
The government should give farmers a discount on crop insurance premiums if they plant cover crops or use no-till practices, said Claire O’Connor of the Natural Resources Defense Council during a teleconference on climate change. She said it would encourage practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and also protect soil and water quality. “What we’re trying to do is offer the equivalent of a good driver discount,” she said.
The Risk Management Agency has authority under current law to offer the discount as a pilot program, she said. For more detail, see NRDC’s “Soil Matters” report. In conjunction with the teleconference, NRDC released a draft of the agriculture chapter of the upcoming National Climate Assessment. Eugene Takle of Iowa State University said for the Midwest, the first half of the growing season is becoming wetter and the second half is becoming drier.