Senators Stress Important Of Crop Insurance In Farm Bill Hearing

Senate Ag members repeatedly stressed the importance of crop insurance and the need to restructure commodity programs in the 2023 Farm Bill during the panel’s latest hearing.

“Crop insurance is the number one risk management tool for producers, but historically, hasn’t been available to some farmers who are most in need of it," said Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow.  "I’m going to continue to focus on expanding and strengthening crop insurance for all our farmers.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation predicts a 16% drop in net farm income this year on top of a further 4% hike in record costs.

“We are committed to crop insurance," noted USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Robert Bonnie.  "We know how important it is in your neck of the woods, but it’s important across the country. And we think creating incentives for producers to take advantage of crop insurance, the same thing on the NAP side, the more we can do to get them into those safety net programs, we think that’s critically important.”

But with possible budget cuts under House GOP control, top Senate Ag Republican John Boozman called for ways to reallocate dollars from flush disaster aid spending, including ARC and PLC.

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