News

Ten bushel corn and the need for crop insurance

A crop insurance manager says the industry is preparing for more challenges to crop insurance in the next farm bill. Doug Yoder, with Country Financial points to the challenges to the 2014 farm bill, “When it went to the full Senate floor for debate, 236 amendments were launched attacking crop insurance. Now, we successfully – thanks to our member involvement – beat off, held off all of those changes except one. That conservation compliance tied to the premium discounts, that’s the only thing that ended up passing.”

Yoder says there WILL be other attempts to reduce or eliminate crop insurance in the next farm bill and urges farmers to contact their representatives in Washington to protect it.

He tells Brownfield there are pockets where it is very much needed, even in a relatively good crop year like this one in Illinois, “I talked to a farmer from Clay County. I did not know this. They had 10 bushel corn down there in some parts of Clay County. They had 45 bushel beans. This same gentleman had 45 bushel beans and 10 bushel corn. But, obviously, he’s going to have some sizeable claims on the corn side.”

Brownfield interviewed Yoder at the Illinois Farm Bureau Annual Meeting. Protecting crop insurance is the TOP policy priority of Illinois Farm Bureau.