Crop insurance a farm bill priority for wheat growers
Washington Ag Today November 4, 2011 Washington farmer and chairman of the National Association of Wheat Growers Domestic Policy Committee, Brett Blankenship, says keeping crop insurance products is the number one farm bill priority for his organization. But in a NAWG provided interview from the Wheat Growers fall meeting just held in Arizona, Blankenship said crop insurance by itself is not a sufficient safety net. Blankenship: “Because crop insurance won‘t help wheat farmers in long periods of low prices. When you need a safety net the most, the safety net that a crop insurance product provides based on price, falls along with the market price. So, that has been the traditional place of a Title I program. Historically that was direct payments that sustained us in those hard times, but we are looking at other available options in the current budget discussions that might complete what the direct payment has been for in the past.” Collin Peterson, one of the congressional ag leaders working to come up with a farm bill to give to the deficit super committee, says they have agreed not to cut or undermine crop insurance. Those Ag Committee chairmen and ranking members did not meet their November 1st deadline to reach agreement on a new farm bill but they continue to work. Peterson says the commodity title is the hang up, with many parts of a new farm bill already agreed upon, including dairy. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Aginfo Net. ?
