U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) stressed the importance of preserving a strong crop insurance program as part of the next Farm Bill in a recent address, calling it a valuable risk management tool that will help agriculture producers manage the challenges of a struggling farm economy.
Roberts, the chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, delivered his remarks to an audience of nearly 400 people gathered at the Kansas Governor’s Summit on Agricultural Growth on Aug. 24 in Manhattan, Kansas.
In addition to ensuring the agricultural sector has a crop insurance safety net, Roberts highlighted the need to reduce regulatory burdens on producers and to strengthen export markets as other priorities for the 2018 Farm Bill.
When the 2014 Farm Bill was written, Roberts said, the agriculture economy was relatively solid, with net farm income at record highs. Now, however, the farm sector is expected to face a 50 percent decline in net farm income. That decline has weakened credit conditions in the agricultural sector and tight profit margins have caused cash flow shortages.
“Producers are expending more working capital to meet short-term obligations,” Roberts said. “Many farmers are becoming more leveraged as working capital is decreasing while debt levels continue to rise. The trend in farm country is clear. But, during these tough times in the agricultural economy, what’s needed is certainty, bold thinking, and new ideas that address today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.”
Producers across the country have emphasized the importance of crop insurance, which protects business operations from unforeseen losses. More than 290 million acres of crops from all 50 states were insured by a crop insurance product in 2016, Roberts said.
“Crop insurance is, for many, the most valuable tool in the risk management toolbox,” he said. “During my visits, producers from across Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Alabama and nearly everywhere in between have emphasized the importance of crop insurance and other risk management tools as they navigate through a struggling farm economy.”
Roberts said he worked to reinstate a $3 billion cut to crop insurance programs in the 2015 budget process. He also noted that previous U.S. Department of Agriculture crop insurance negotiations cut $6 billion from the program, in addition to a $6 billion reduction in the 2008 Farm Bill.
Producers also face challenges with burdensome regulations that impact their production and the cost of doing business,” Roberts said.
“We need to find ways to reduce regulatory burdens that hurt producers’ bottom lines,” Roberts said, praising the Trump administration for taking actions to provide regulatory relief.
Additionally, Roberts called for growing export markets for both manufactured goods and commodities that producers grow.
“At a time when the agriculture economy is in a rough patch, farmers and ranchers more than ever depend on trade that will increase demand for their commodities,” Roberts said. “It’s clear that agricultural trade not only benefits the agricultural economy, but it also benefits the entire U.S. economy.”