Farm Leaders Again Urge ‘Do No Harm’ to Crop Insurance; Reaffirm Crop Insurance as a ‘Top Priority’ in Farm Bill

Farm Leaders Again Urge ‘Do No Harm’ to Crop Insurance; Reaffirm Crop Insurance as a ‘Top Priority’ in Farm Bill (INDIAN WELLS, Calif.) — Echoing the same message heard throughout the halls of Congress last year, a panel of farm leaders urged Congress to “do no harm” to crop insurance in the upcoming Farm Bill and to remember that crop insurance is a top priority for most of America’s farmers. Robbie Minnich, senior government relations representative with the National Cotton Council, pointed out that one of the key strengths of crop insurance is that farmers and agents sit down and draw up a risk management strategy tailored specifically for that farm. “Crop insurance policies come in a wide array of styles and coverage and the farmer can very closely tailor their policy to their specific farm situation and risk tolerance. It’s certainly not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy,” he said. “It is critically important that farm policy includes avenues for farmers and ranchers to manage the risk of bad yields and wild market swings,” said Mike Stranz, a government relations representative with National Farmers Union. “The current system of crop insurance has done a good job of that and must to continue to improve,” he added. “Crop insurance helps ensure that the nation’s food, feed, fiber and fuel supply remains stable and affordable.” Brooke Shupe, manager of government affairs for risk management for the National Association of Wheat Growers, noted that crop insurance is critical in wheat country, particularly given the ongoing drought. “Crop insurance is a critical risk management tool for wheat producers. That’s why the vast majority of the nation’s wheat farmers purchase it every year,” she said. Sam Willett, senior director of public policy at the National Corn Growers Association, said, “cuts in the crop insurance program would reduce the effectiveness of the most important risk-management tool farmers have. We can’t afford to dilute our best risk management tool. The federal crop insurance program’s performance this past year in protecting producers from financial disaster, especially younger farmers, explains why it is the most important risk management tool.” Several of the panelists expressed concern that crop insurance could come under pressure as budget constraints tighten, which could harm both the participation levels and overall effectiveness of the program. “One of the keys to the success of crop insurance is the widespread participation by farmers,” noted Mary Kay Thatcher, senior director of congressional relations with the American Farm Bureau Federation.“If Congress does anything to reduce the level of participation, there could be a tremendous outcry for some sort of federal intervention the next time we have a widespread natural disaster,” she added. Reece Langley, vice president of government affairs with the USA Rice Federation, pointed out that crop insurance and other farm policies have already taken budget cuts in the name of deficit reduction. “When making decisions in the upcoming Farm Bill, it should be remembered that agriculture has already sustained more than $12 billion in budget since 2008.” Langley noted, “USA Rice has been actively working in recent years to improve crop insurance so that it is more effective and affordable for rice producers, and we are encouraged by some recent steps taken by the Risk Management Agency. However, crop insurance cannot serve as the sole safety net for producers, especially with respect to multi-year price declines.” Dennis Nuxoll, vice president of federal government affairs with Western Growers underscored the importance of crop insurance to his organization. “Crop insurance is already a critical management tool for many farmers. But for specialty crop farmers, the use of crop insurance products have not been as common,” he said. Nuxoll explained that the farmers he represents grow hundreds of different crop types under a huge variety of growing conditions. “Thus, there’s work ahead for us to tailor these products so they serve as the best, strategic risk management tools possible,” he said. “With ever-growing challenges, our growers are increasingly focusing on these products as tools they could use.”

Getting The Ducks In A Row

Well...don't blink, but the comment period has ended. Any tomato man worth his sea salt had nine whole days to read the 31-page draft text of the 'Suspension of Antidumping Investigation: Fresh Tomatoes From Mexico', absorb and understand it, then formulate and submit a response by 5:00 PM Monday to the U.S. Department of Commerce - International Trade Administration through a reportedly frustrating and bureaucratic online mechanism. That's a tall order, folks. Doesn't leave much time for much else, like sleeping or running a business. Almost makes you think this was slated to be fast-tracked and they didn't want too many comments. But I'd have to be paranoid to think that. It will be interesting to see if: 1) the comments are ever displayed publicly, with attribution, and 2) from the comments there will be an actual amending of the draft for the final agreement. But more critical, of course, are the endgame ramifications of the price increases to the floor, or 'reference' prices. When it sunk in that minimums were being jacked up by a minimum of 48% on a per pound basis for round tomatoes in the winter, and there wasn't word one in the draft text about regulating supply at shipping point, it was apparent that this was the kind of scenario that would have master economist Alan Greenspan repeating the phrase 'irrational exuberance' like he did in 1996, well ahead of the dot.com crash. Interestingly, though, many veteran salespeople at both ends of the tomato chain who ordinarily would welcome dictated higher prices with open arms, are at best apprehensive about monkeying with the delicate supply/demand balance that currently exists in the tomato industry. They care about movement, period.  And they can only hope that potential violators of the new agreement down the line will be dissuaded from doing so unless they want to feel the wrath of PACA (and maybe civil) sanctions. In the meantime, however, look for the tomato market to be a bit jumpy, shall we say, in the days leading up to March 4, as shippers and buyers alike begin jockeying for position with their respective inventories before they go through the lookingglass, together. Later, Jay

AFBF Recognizes PAL Graduates for Leadership Achievement

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 12, 2013 – A group of 10 outstanding young farm and ranch leaders was honored on Saturday by the American Farm Bureau Federation as graduates of the organization’s sixth Partners in Agricultural Leadership class. The young agricultural leaders were recognized during AFBF's Joint National Leadership and Young Farmers & Ranchers Conference in Phoenix, Ariz. PAL is designed to help agricultural leaders accelerate their leadership abilities and solidify their roles as advocates for agriculture. “Today’s young farmers and ranchers are truly impressive, and this group of PAL graduates represents the very best of the best,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “It’s a pleasure to recognize this outstanding class of young farm and ranch leaders. The young people who completed the program are equipped with the leadership skills they will need to help set the tone for American agriculture and serve their communities. The skills they acquired will help them effectively engage with the customers we serve, as well as provide needed advocacy for our organization on the many issues that touch our lives.” Graduates of PAL Class 6 are: Rachel Bina of North Dakota; Jonathan Cavin of Virginia; Travis Gebhart of South Dakota; Megan Gravois of Louisiana; Heather Hill of Indiana; Terri Lawton of Massachusetts; Hilary Maricle of Nebraska; Jason Rodgers of South Carolina; Malissa Fritz Schentzel of Minnesota; and Misty Wall of Utah. To be eligible for the PAL program, applicants must have previously developed leadership skills built through participating in at least one Young Farmers & Ranchers program. This includes AFBF competitive events, Discussion Meet (“Sweet 16” finalist), Achievement Award (top 10 finalist) and Excellence in Agriculture Award (top 10 finalist). Retired members of the AFBF YF&R Committee and retired chairs of state Farm Bureau YF&R Committees also are eligible to apply. PAL training involves four learning modules designed to develop specific leadership skill sets while exploring components of leadership and its theories and philosophies. The modules build upon one another over the two years of the program and include intense, in-person, hands-on training. The PAL program is sponsored by AFBF, Monsanto and Farm Credit.