Farmers who purchased federal crop insurance in 2012 are in no mood for Congress to offer aid to those who chose not to insure. A DTN customer poll compiled last week found 83% of more than 438 surveyed oppose extra monetary disaster aid to farmers who were eligible to buy insurance but did not. Only 10% favored the kind of special assistance that has been common in past election year weather disasters.
Crop insurance industry sources don't yet have final acreage numbers for 2012 crops, but land grant economists estimate that 75% of Indiana, 80% of Illinois and 90% of Iowa's corn acres are insured based on recent participation. In 1988, the last major Corn Belt drought, only 13% of Illinois corn acres were insured.
"How could any farmer with a conscience look someone in the eyes and ask for disaster assistance when they had the opportunity to protect their investment with a crop insurance product?" says Darin Anderson of Valley City, N.D. "Would I feel bad for someone to lose their farm?Sure, but that was a business decision, and unfortunately it was damn poor one.In the Corn Belt, farmers are protecting $600 to $800/acre in revenue and only had to pay $20 to $40/acre for premiums.What idiot wouldn?t do that? ...This subject makes my blood boil."
An Illinois livestock and grain farmer feels the same. "I expect that crop insurance will mitigate much of the loss from our crops, depending on the level and type of insurance product one chose and we are covered at the maximum level of 85% with the Harvest Price adjustment [should fall prices stay above the $5.68 corn and $12.55 soybean spring price]," he says. "We feel very fortunate to have taken the HP as it will be worth about another $300+/A in insurance settlement and only cost about an extra $9/A to include.
"I have a hard time understanding why a disaster program is needed when crop farms have the ability to purchase an insurance product that cost us $32.17/A, which added about 4% to our total costs, that basically guarantees to make you whole for your cropping operation. The livestock industry would jump all over a similar program if it were available for our production."
Follow me on Twitter@MarciaZTaylor.
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