crop insurance
Lawmakers propose $24 billion in crop insurance cuts
Days after Republican leaders agreed to reverse $3 billion in cuts in the crop insurance program, lawmakers proposed reforms that would cut federal spending on the program by one-fourth. The reformers would deny premium subsidies to large operators and would ban premium subsidies for the Harvest Price Option.
Crop insurance is potential target in world trade complaints
More than 100 countries offer crop insurance, a sign of the rising popularity of the instrument in providing support for producers since the formation of the World Trade Organization, says an IFPRI report. Premium volumes grew by roughly 16 percent a year, to well above $30 billion, in the decade ending in 2013. The United States accounts for one-third of the premium volume worldwide, with China at about 40 percent of the U.S. level. Japan, Canada and the EU also run large programs.
Year-end spending bill would erase crop-insurance cuts
The proposed 3-percent cut in crop insurance funding will be erased when Congress passes its catch-all spending bill at the end of the year, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The cuts were written into the two-year budget pact, announced on Monday, but Republican leaders, under fire from farm-state lawmakers, backpedaled.
House leaders back off crop-insurance cuts
Confronted by angry farm-state lawmakers, House Republican leaders agreed they will not carry out the 3-percent cut in crop insurance spending that is part of a two-year budget agreement. "I take our leadership at their word when they committed to me and many of my colleagues that we will eliminate these harmful provisions in the not-too-distant future," said Agriculture Committee chairman Michael Conaway, a Texas Republican.
Budget deal slashes rate of return for crop insurers
The budget agreement pending in Congress directs the Agriculture Department to reduce sharply the rate of return to crop insurers in order to save $3 billion over the next 10 years. The cuts, amounting to slightly more than 3 percent of projected spending on the federally subsidized program, were opposed by leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees.
Avian flu expected back in the fall
This spring the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza epidemic tore through poultry farms across 15 U.S. states, leading to the death of 48 million birds. The bulk of those were egg-laying hens, though turkey production was affected, too.
Clinton: Focus the farm safety net on family operations
As president, Hillary Clinton says she would focus the farm safety net - crop supports, crop insurances and disaster relief - on "farmers and ranchers that truly need it the most, not those who have the biggest businesses or the best connections. We will change the formula."
Crop-insurance claims zoom for prevented planting
Crop-insurance claims by farmers for prevented planting are up by 48 percent this year, said Bloomberg, a reflection of the cold and rainy spring. Growers filed claims on 2.3 million acres of corn and nearly 2.2 million acres of soybeans, said the news agency, based on its review of federal data.
Wells Fargo may sell its crop insurance company
Banking giant Wells Fargo may sell its crop insurance subsidiary, says Reuters, quoting a bank spokeswoman.
Analysts ask if crop insurance should be redesigned
The federally subsidized crop-insurance program grew dramatically over the past two decades. It covers 44 percent more acres and, with creation of revenue insurance, the average level of coverage climbed to 75 percent in 2014, a 17-point increase from 1996, according to economists Carl Zulauf of Ohio State and Dan Orden of Virginia Tech.
Only a few miss deadline for conservation compliance
Some 98.2 percent of farmers met the June 1 deadline to show they practice soil and water conservation on their land. By filing the document, form AD-1026, producers are eligible for premium subsidies on crop insurance.
Crop scouting and data-gathering will be ag drones’ domain
Drone aircraft are a natural fit for data-hungry precision agriculture, helping growers fine-tune their operations and maximize income, says private consulting group Informa, which estimates the gains at $12 an acre for corn, $2.60 for soybeans and $2.25 for wheat.
House panel would delay menu labels, school-lunch reforms
Administration proposals to put calorie counts on menus and to reform school lunches would be delayed by one year under a bill drafted by the House Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture. The subcommittee also would restrict the 2015 update of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the government's tips for healthy eating, "to only matters of diet and nutrient intake" - a rejection of the proposal from a panel of experts to encourage sustainable food production.
Crop-support outlays hold steady under 2014 farm law
U.S. grain, cotton and soybean farmers will collect an average of $11.2 billion a year in crop subsidies and crop insurance benefits under the 2014 farm law, down by nearly 1 percent from the average of the preceding decade, says a University of Missouri think tank.
Smaller corn, soy supplies but big harvests on horizon
Stockpiles of U.S. corn and soybeans are smaller than expected, giving a boost to futures prices in the near term, although massive harvests of the two most widely planted crops in the nation are on the horizon.
White House offers producers more cushion against drought
The White House announced changes in the federally subsidized crop-insurance program to cushion farmers against the ongoing drought in the West or other natural disasters. The changes broaden the number of crops and the area covered by the Actual Production History yield exemption and are estimated to generate $30 million in additional relief to farmers in the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1, and $43 million in the following fiscal year.
Nutrient compliance, pay-for-gain mooted for conservation
Researchers know that a comparatively small share of cropland accounts for a disproportionate amount of erosion and nutrient runoff, writes economist Marc Ribaudo in Choices, the ag econ journal.
Senate budget proposal targets food stamps indirectly
The fiscal 2016 budget resolution proposed by Senate Budget chairman Mike Enzi calls for large cuts in discretionary spending outside of the military, which could include food stamps, but does not specifically ask for cuts in the farm program. During committee debate, Democrat Debbie Stabenow said 400 farm, conservation, anti-hunger and rural-development groups were on record against any cuts beyond the $23 billion required by the 2014 farm law.