Crop insurance payouts break records and spark debates

March 25, 2013April 30, 2013

Widespread drought across Iowa and other Midwest states lead to massive payments from the program. The droughts throughout the 2012 growing season will have generated an estimated record level of payments, reaching $16 billion, which has led critics to call for changes to the government subsidy system. They feel that the taxpayers are paying for an inefficient subsidy and the government can’t afford it. Farmers and growers purchase their crop insurance from private insurers. That said, those policy premiums are subsidized by the federal government, and losses over certain levels…

Crop insurance study shows coverage saved thousands of jobs

March 16, 2013April 30, 2013

It is believed that employment was maintained for 17,000 people in Iowa and Nebraska due to the protection. The results of a recent study have shown that the payouts from farms that had federally subsidized crop insurance generated an economic impact of an estimated $2.2 billion across a region of four states, and that it saved 17,000 jobs in Iowa and Nebraska, alone. The researchers who conducted the study were seeking to define the impact of the coverage on the state economies. The purpose of the research was to find…

Crop insurance payouts show modest damage

December 12, 2012December 12, 2012 S.Vagus

Drought spurs moderate crop insurance payouts this year The ongoing drought that has gripped much of the U.S. may not be as economically calamitous as had been predicted, according to insurance payouts to farmers in some of the most drought-stricken states. Earlier this year, farmers had expected to lose the vast majority of their produce due to severe drought. While the drought proved to be one of the worst the country has experienced in its history, spurring the federal government to purchase stocks of fish and produce, the economic impact…