Producers enrolled a record 311.5 million acres in the federal crop insurance program in 2017, topping the previous mark of 295.9 million acres in 2015, says USDA data. The taxpayer-subsidized program is the largest federal support for growers and is expected to be a target for reformers during debate on the 2018 farm bill. Growers are making a strong insurance program their top priority in the legislation.
“Today, crop insurance protects around 90 percent of insurable land and more than 130 different kinds of crops,” said the National Crop Insurance Services, a trade group. At an industry convention in Arizona, the group “encouraged agriculture to work hand-in-hand during the farm bill to defend farmers’ primary risk management tool.”
So far, crop insurers have paid $4.5 billion in indemnities to producers for losses on 2017 crops. They collected premiums of $10.1 billion on policies with a value of $108 billion, with the government paying $6.4 billion of the total and producers paying $3.7 billion. The industry says insurance is a good deal for taxpayers because farmers bear a share of the cost and have to suffer a loss before they see any compensation. Critics say the government pays too large a share of the program’s cost.