environmental working group Archives

Crop insurance program wastes $7.8 billion, says environmental group

January 8, 2014January 6, 2014 Julie Campbell

A new report has suggested that farmers in the Corn Belt have been massively overcompensated. The results of an analysis that was commissioned by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) have now been released in a report which suggests that the federal crop insurance program’s compensation to farmers in the Corn Belt who experienced the greatest devastation from the drought in 2012, had actually been too high by an estimated $7.8 billion. The payouts from that disaster totaled approximately $14 billion, but the report said that far less would have sufficed.…

Study exposes dubious nature of crop insurance in the US

May 3, 2013May 2, 2013 Logan B.

Crop insurance program highlighted in new study Last year, the worst drought the U.S. has experienced in over 50 years brought significant attention to the country’s crop insurance program. The drought led to record payouts from the crop insurance program, which is subsidized with taxpayer money. The program is designed to provide some financial aid to farmers who lose their crops due to natural disasters and other catastrophic events. This was not the case for the 2012 drought, however, according to a new study from the Iowa State University. Study…