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.
The report says that insurance payments not only helped ensure that most farmers will be able to plant another crop in 2013, the indemnities also produced a significant impact beyond the farm gate. It 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.
We discussed the study’s key findings and what they mean with Mike Barrett, senior vice president of insurance with FCSAmerica.
AUDIO: Mike Barrett (5:08 MP3)
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