News

Perdue: Use, don’t abuse crop insurance

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says he wants farmers to use crop insurance – not abuse it.  “Let’s face it – you don’t buy insurance on your house hoping it will burn down – do ya,” he says.  “And neither do we want to buy crop insurance hoping our crop fails.  We have to get out of the mindset that if I invest $1 in crop insurance – I get $1.10 or more out of that.”

Perdue told attendees of the Montana Ag Summit on Thursday he knows the important role crop insurance plays in farming operations.

But he doesn’t want to see farmers rely on it.  “Insurance is insurance,” he says.  “And crop insurance is a safety net for when things and disaster and tragedies hit.  Just like we don’t want everybody on a permanent status on food stamps – we don’t want to be come dependent.”

Perdue says crop insurance shouldn’t become a routine source of revenue.

AUDIO: Sonny Perdue (courtesy the USDA)