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Farm Bureau against crop insurance mandates in next farm bill

There continues to be concern crop insurance will be tied to conservation in the next farm bill.

American Farm Bureau economist Roger Cryan says farmers should not face more mandates.

“Sometimes you get too much tied together and it becomes unwieldy.”

He tells Brownfield it is important to take care of producers in the commodity title and support the environment in the conservation title, but tying them together would be a mistake.

“The rising costs of farm inputs like fertilizer and fuel, I don’t think that’s going to necessarily all come down anytime soon. It’s really important that we support productive agriculture here and abroad to kind of get back on track in reducing global food insecurity.”

Cryan who spoke to Brownfield at last week’s MN Ag Expo in Mankato, says Farm Bureau would like to see the cost of federal crop insurance products lowered in the 2023 Farm Bill as well as higher reference prices for all Title I (one) commodities.