A broad coalition of ag-related groups is urging Congressional leaders to keep their promise to not cut crop insurance through the appropriations process.
The letter to all members of Congress says that crop insurance is a linchpin of the farm safety net and is crucial to the economic security of rural America.
Brad Lubben, University of Nebraska extension policy specialist, said crop insurance companies were the focus of the proposed $3 billion cut.
“It was offered as, ‘we’re going to find $3 billion in cuts out of the companies, not out of the producers’,” Lubben said. “But $3 billion in cuts out of crop insurance in general also affects how it gets delivered.”
Although the crop insurance cuts are still part of the current budget deal, leaders of the House and Senate Ag Committees have received assurances from congressional leaders that those cuts will be removed from the year-end omnibus spending bill.
But Lubben says the pressure on crop insurance will likely continue.
“Clearly, crop insurance is a target. It’s a big program, and it’s a target,” he said.
The coalition’s letter points out that the crop insurance program has contributed more than $12 billion towards reduced government spending since the 2008 farm bill, “which well-surpasses the funding add to the program in 2014."
Source: www.brownfieldagnews.com