The ASA has announced its opposition of the reductions to the coverage and restructuring of food aid.
The White House budget for 2014 has proposed that the crop insurance program be reduced and that food aid be restructured, but the American Soybean Association (ASA) has released its criticisms of those decisions.
The organization represents the soybean farmers across the country and has openly opposed the proposals.
The budget proposal for next year included a reduction of the federal crop insurance program by $7.4 billion. The ASA has fiercely criticized that decision, stating that there could be considerable potential consequences that must be taken into account before that choice is finalized.
The ASA has said that a cut of that size to the crop insurance program could be destructive to farmers.
According to the president of the ASA, Danny Murphy, who is also a soybean farmer from Canton, Mississippi, the soybean farmers across the United States “are willing to do our part” in helping to manage the fiscal challenges being faced by the country. He added that they have a “vested interest” in making certain that strategic cuts are made, as they understand that some reductions are required.
However, he said that these cuts must be made “with all potential consequences taken into account. As many farmers still struggle to recover from the worst drought in generations, now is not the time to make such a deep cut to the federal crop insurance program.” He pointed out that this industry is one that is rooted in uncertainties of many different forms. This can be anything from prices, to markets, rainfall and droughts, and many other types of risk that begin from the moment that the seeds are placed in the ground.
Murphy also explained that his organization does understand that farmers aren’t the only ones who assume this type of risk. However the crop insurance that protects them also helps to provide protection for the millions of Americans who depend on products that use these ingredients every day. He feels that proper coverage is a “critical tool” to help to make sure that the risks to American farmers are mitigated and to ensure that the millions of people who count on what they produced are also covered.
