All farmers deserve access to a farm safety net that protects against the inherent risks of farming. However, the vast majority of federal crop insurance policies sold in the U.S. today are designed for farmers who grow a single crop – leaving diversified grain, livestock, and produce operations with few options to manage risks on […]
crop insurance
2018 Farm Bill Drilldown: Commodity Programs and Crop Insurance
Editor’s Note: This is the sixth post in a multi-part blog series analyzing the final 2018 Farm Bill, which was released on December 11, 2018 by the leaders of the Farm Bill Conference Committee. Previous posts focused on local and regional food and beginning/socially disadvantaged farmers, organic agriculture, conservation, and research and plant breeding. The bill was passed by the House […]
Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: Senate Agriculture Committee Advances Farm Bill
Every five years or so, Congress reauthorizes the federal farm bill, a large and complex package of legislation that affects all facets of food and agriculture policy in the U.S. The current farm bill, which Congress passed in 2014, expires on September 30, 2018. The 2018 Farm Bill must be passed before September 30 in […]
COMMENT: Senate Agriculture Committee Passes Farmer-Forward Draft Bill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Senate Agriculture Committee Passes Farmer-Forward Draft Bill NSAC optimistic as Senate Agriculture Committee farm bill moves to floor Washington, DC, June 13, 2018– In response to the Senate Agriculture Committee passage of Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) […]
Draft Senate Farm Bill: Commodity Programs & Crop Insurance
This is the sixth and final post in a multi-part blog series analyzing the draft farm bill released on June 7, 2018 by the Senate Agriculture Committee. Previous posts focused on: conservation, local/regional food systems and rural development, research and seed breeding, beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers, and organic agriculture. The bill is expected to be considered and “marked-up” (aka amended) by […]
$9 Million in Funding Available for Risk Management Training
This week, USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced the availability of nearly $9 million to support risk management farmer education grants. Funded projects will be awarded through two distinct but related RMA grant programs: the Risk Management Education Partnership Program (RMEP) and the Crop Insurance in Targeted States (TS) program. Additional details on each funding […]
Top Ten Reasons to Reject the House Farm Bill
1. Helps the big get bigger and rich get richer Over the last three decades, American agriculture has become increasingly consolidated. As of 2015, a majority of our food (51 percent) came from farms with over $1 million in annual sales – up 20 percent since 1991. Federal policy has historically contributed to this consolidation […]
Draft House Farm Bill: Crop Insurance and Commodity Programs
This is the second post in a multi-part blog series analyzing the draft farm bill released on April 12, 2018 by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX). Other posts in this series focus on: beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers, local/regional food systems and rural development, research and seed breeding, conservation, and organic agriculture. The bill is expected to […]
Path To The 2018 Farm Bill: Legislative Campaign Update
The coming of spring has more than just the bees buzzing; activity on Capitol Hill is also shifting into high gear as the deadline for the 2018 Farm Bill approaches. This week represents perhaps one of the few quiet periods left in the capital as Congress takes a two-week recess back in their districts – […]
RELEASE: New Legislation Will Expand Access to Crop Insurance and Commitment to Conservation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Bill Expands Access to Crop Insurance, Commitment to Conservation NSAC supports effort to modernize crop insurance program Washington, DC, January 19, 2018 – Today, Representative Rick Nolan (D-MN), Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee’s General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee, introduced […]
CBO Report Provides Roadmap to Crop Insurance Modernization
In December, right before Christmas, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) quietly released a bombshell report revealing what many agriculture policy analysts have long known – that modernizing the federal crop insurance program wouldn’t spell disaster, but rather savings and improvements. For example, the report found that by introducing a $50,000 cap on crop insurance premium […]
A Small Step Toward Crop Insurance Modernization: Modifying the Prevented Planting Policy
For years, one presidential budget after the next has proposed modernizing our federal crop insurance program. Historically, those proposals have fallen by the wayside; but this week the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) made a small but significant step forward by updating the crop insurance program’s “prevented planting” policy. Prevented planting […]
Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: Crop Insurance Modernization
Editor’s Note: On October 24, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released its 2018 Farm Bill policy platform, An Agenda for the 2018 Farm Bill, which provides a comprehensive vision for a more sustainable farm and food system. This is the sixth and final post in a multipart series that breaks down NSAC’s policy priorities for the 2018 Farm Bill. […]
Iowa Cover Crop Initiative Offers “Good Farmer Discount” on Crop Insurance
Editor’s Note: This blog is a guest post written by Ann Y. Robinson, Agriculture Policy Director for the Iowa Environmental Council, an NSAC member organization. Cover crops are catching on in Iowa. Over the last decade, farmers in the state have significantly increased the acreage of cover crops; as of 2016 an estimated 600,000 acres […]
The Federal Crop Insurance Program: Status and Sustainability
Editor’s Note: This is a guest blog written by Jeff Schahczenski, an agricultural and natural resource economist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and the ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture program (ATTRA). A substantial update to his 2012 ATTRA publication, Crop Insurance Options for Specialty, Diversified, and Organic Farmers, will be available this December. Federal […]
Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: A Comprehensive Approach to Food and Farm Policy
Editor’s Note: On October 24, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released its 2018 Farm Bill policy platform, An Agenda for the 2018 Farm Bill. NSAC has been a leader in agricultural policy for over 30 years, and has been instrumental in helping to develop some of our nation’s most successful agricultural programs for conserving […]
Federal Crop Insurance Program Delivery Can Be Improved Without Endangering Safety Net
For years, proponents of the status quo have rebuffed calls for modernization of the federal crop insurance program, claiming that any significant updates could cause the whole program to collapse. Like any good safety net, however, the program was never really that fragile. One of the challenges for those pushing for the program to become […]
Conservation Compliance is a Key Thread in Farm Safety Net
In order to be eligible for most federal farm programs, including the taxpayer subsidized federal crop insurance program, farmers whose land includes highly erodible areas or wetlands must adhere to specific conservation requirements. These requirements, known collectively as conservation compliance, are in place to ensure that our shared natural resources have a minimum level of […]
Senate Agriculture Committee Tackles Farm Bill Heavy Hitters: Commodities, Credit, and Crop Insurance
Yesterday, Senate Agriculture Committee hunkered down for an epic farm bill hearing, during which 17 witnesses gave testimony on three of the bill’s most significant titles – the Commodity Title (Title I), Credit Title (Title V), and Risk Management Title (Title XI). Witnesses at the hearing included representatives from commodity groups, banks, general farm organizations, […]
Disaster Assistance: from “Not a Penny” to New and Improved
Last week, the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) released a new report indicating that changes to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) made in the 2014 Farm Bill have been well-received by farmers and have led to a doubling of NAP applications – from 66,000 in 2014 to 138,000 in 2015. While this is […]
Progress on Organic Insurance Options and Data Collection
According to two recent reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to Congress, the Department is making some significant progress in their effort to increase the availability of data on organic production as well as the availability of insurance options for organic producers. Quality production data and the expansion of insurance options are inexorably […]
Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: Priorities for Sustainable Agriculture
Editor’s Note: As a lead up to the 2018 Farm Bill, around which discussions and debate in Congress have already begun, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is previewing some of the major programs and policies that advocates need to know in order to effectively engage. The final post in our series, “Path to the […]
Senate Agriculture Committee Holds Confirmation Hearing for USDA Secretary
Since January, the Senate has been holding confirmation hearings for President Trump’s cabinet nominees. On Thursday, March 23, the Senate Agriculture Committee held its confirmation hearing for Trump’s pick for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary, Sonny Perdue, the last of Trump’s cabinet nominees to be vetted by the Senate. The Committee will soon schedule […]
Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: Commodities and Crop Insurance
Editor’s Note: As a lead up to the 2018 Farm Bill, around which discussions and debate in Congress have already begun, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is previewing some of the major programs and policies advocates need to know in order to effectively engage. The third post in our series, “Path to the 2018 Farm […]