BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. — Congressional agriculture committee leaders praised the federal crop insurance program in recorded remarks played Feb. 13 at the crop insurance industry’s 75th annual convention.
“Farming is one of the riskiest businesses out there. Our farmers need risk management tools they can count on to protect their crops and way of life,” said Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. “Crop insurance is the No. 1 risk management tool for producers.
She cited the timely and responsive nature of crop insurance as a critical component of the program, especially as farmers stand on the front lines of climate change.
“As farmers increasingly face threats from the climate crisis, we need to think about how to expand the crop insurance safety net, so farmers don’t have to rely on ad hoc programs. We need to return to the principles of risk management as we work to protect and to expand crop insurance and pass this farm bill,” she said.
Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member John Boozman, R-Ark., also spoke to the indispensable role of crop insurance in the farm safety net, calling cuts to crop insurance in the farm bill a “bad idea.”
“As much as the farm bill is a safety net for our farmers, it’s also a safety net for rural America. At its core, so is crop insurance,” he said.
Crop insurance protects more than 490 million acres of American farmland and keeps America growing when disaster strikes.
“I’m interested in looking at ways to improve crop insurance. If we can get more folks participating in higher levels of coverage, we can break the cycle of ad hoc aid,” House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., told the gathered crop insurers and industry stakeholders. “Crop insurance coverage is reliable, timely and predictable.”
“Our crop insurers are so important,” said House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member David Scott, D-Ga.
Crop insurers “make sure that we maintain the United States having the greatest and the best agriculture system in the world,” he said.
Stabenow, Boozman, Thompson and Scott will be the chief architects of the 2023 farm bill.
Learn more about the importance of crop insurance by visiting CropInsuranceInAmerica.org.
