A new report shows that nearly 21-thousand off-farm jobs in a four-state area have been saved thanks to farmers’ investment in crop insurance in 2012.
The study was conducted by the University of Nebraska and underwritten by Omaha-based Farm Credit Services of America (FCSAmerica). It covers the states of Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Through March 4th, farmers in the four states had received nearly 4.5 billion dollars in indemnity payments for the 2012 growing season. Mike Barrett. senior vice president of insurance with FCSAmerica, says the research confirms those indemnities produce a significant impact beyond the farm gate.
“It really helps us understand the critical importance for farmers in years where there’s significant loss,” Barrett says, “and also, it really illustrated the importance of crop insurance in stablilizing jobs and incomes off the farm as well.”
The report shows indemnity payments generated off-farm economic impact of nearly 2.2 billion dollars in the four states. That figure includes 721 million dollars of labor income that preserved 20,900 off-farm jobs in the region.
AUDIO: Mike Barrett (5:08 MP3)
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