Crop insurance, input costs and Risk Management Agency (RMA) were the main concerns of farmers in Lawrence County Agricultural Bureau breakfast on Thursday. Representing Rick Crawford (AR-01) attended the breakfast as part of his listening tour as Congress prepares to draft a new Farm Bill, a federal law that sets policies for vital agricultural programs and is renewed every five years.
Lawrence County Agricultural Bureau President Jeff Worlow kicked off the meeting with questions about RMA’s recent decision to redesignate 20,000 acres located in five counties of Northeast Arkansas as high risk. In addition to Lawrence Countythe farmers of Craighead, Green, jackson and Randolph face significant increases in crop insurance rates.
With a February 28 deadline for registering for crop insurance, farmers participating in the program are increasingly anxious.
“It’s very reminiscent of how FEMA draws their flood maps and often forces people to buy flood insurance that they don’t necessarily need. It’s like it’s a way to generate more revenue for their agency,” Crawford said. “I also didn’t see a reason for the increase and asked the staff to request more. information about this sudden change.”
“What bothers me is the possibility that these crop insurance rates will continue to rise and that farmers will not be able to participate in crop insurance because it becomes totally useless to them. That means the whole part crop insurance from the Farm Bill is being taken away,” I was told agricultural office member, Greg Balz.
Rising input costs on farms were also a topic of conversation. Over the past year, fuel and fertilizer costs have reached historic highs, which farmers rely on to grow and harvest their crops. Growers pay 115% more for diesel and 125% boosted fertilizer. Last year, Representative Crawford co-sponsored the Reducing Farm Input Costs and Domestic Production Barriers Act and joined more than 100 fellow Republicans in sending a letter to President Biden outlining policy changes that could reduce these costs.
“Crop insurance needs to turn into something different to allow us to deal with higher input costs. My expenses last year compared to the last three years are awful and there is nothing to get out of it, ”said a member.
“One of the problems with input costs is that we have outsourced the production of inputs such as fertilizers. When you put 50% of the chemical fertilizers in the hands of foreign entities, don’t be surprised when they start to manipulate and do things that increase costs for farms,” Crawford said.
“Everything I hear from you guys I incorporate into my legislative work, so these conversations are incredibly helpful and vital to my district’s advocacy work in Washington“, concluded Crawford.
