News

“Do no harm” to crop insurance

When it comes to crop insurance coverage – the industry and farmers are saying “do no harm.”

Tom Zacharias is president of National Crop Insurance Services, a trade association that works for the companies that write the crop insurance business.

He tells Brownfield that participation in crop insurance is high – 280 million acres covered this year. He credits the hard work of the industry and the USDA’s Risk Management Agency and farmers. “We’ve got a lot of acres enrolled, regionally,” says Zacharias, “Coverage levels are up so farmers have adopted crop insurance and it’s the one thing that’s bankable. Bankers understand it. Farmers can use it to help market their grain crop. So, it’s fundamental to their operation.”

Crop insurance has continued to prove its worth, Zacharias says, in these two consecutive years of drought. He tells Brownfield Ag News, “Last year, we had record indemnities. Maybe about 11 Billion, about $10.8 Billion. There were drought losses in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. This year, we are experiencing the worst drought since 1988 up through the Corn Belt and we’re adjusting those claims as we speak.”

Zacharias says how the federal budget and farm bill will turn out is too soon to tell but the message is “do no harm” to the basic crop insurance program.

AUDIO: Tom Zacharias (5:00 mp3)