Federal crop insurance is essential to farming and should be protected from harmful budget cuts and reforms in the 2023 farm bill, a National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) leader told House Agriculture Committee members today.
“Federal crop insurance is a major pillar of risk management for the vast majority of corn growers,” Minnesota farmer and NCGA First Vice President Tom Haag told the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management. “Simply put, the public-private partnership of crop insurance works and plays a significant role for agriculture in the wake of natural disasters.”
Haag’s testimony comes as Congress continues to review implementation of the 2018 farm bill ahead of debate and reauthorization of the farm bill next year.
During development, passage, and implementation of the 2018 farm bill, NCGA’s top priority was to maintain support for a robust crop insurance program. Both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees were able to defeat attacks on the program and found ways to strengthen federal crop insurance.
Last week, corn growers from across the country were in Washington, DC, as part of NCGA’s Corn Congress summer fly-in. Throughout the week, corn growers stressed to their members of Congress the important role that the farm bill plays in their lives and rural America.
Haag noted that NCGA and its state affiliates would provide farm bill recommendations over the coming months.
