Lawmakers clash with Obama administration over the matter of crop insurance

Federal legislators representing various agriculture committees in Congress have rejected the cuts to crop insurance President Obama unveiled in his budget plan this week. The plan looks to cut $8 billion in funding for crop insurance throughout the country. Legislators claim that this would be a major blow to many farmers, especially those in areas that are prone to seeing natural disasters. The Obama administration is keen to make cuts to crop insurance because it claims that some farmers are abusing the system, as they will be paid for their…

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Understanding the insurance overlaps among crop, ACRE, and SURE coverage

A report has been released by economists from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on the topic of overlaps by the various farm safety net programs, investigating the possibility for fraud by those crossovers, but determined that there was very little evidence of its occurrence. However, the hope is that the new Farm Bill will divide the programs in a way that will minimize the potential of overlaps in the future. One of the best examples of farm program complexity is ACRE. The low participation in the program is…

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