CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — American agriculture groups closed ranks to prevent a proposed federal budget deal from cutting crop insurance programs that were crafted as part of a farm bill enacted in 2014 following years of contentious debate.
The budget bill seeks to cap the rate of return for insurance providers at 8.9 percent from 2017-22, a move that was estimated to save US$3 billion and opponents say will gut the programs.
Both the House and Senate Agriculture committees, which shaped the farm bill, opposed the changes.
Crop insurance groups, which claim that the industry already has sustained $12 billion in cuts since 2008, said the plan proposed in the budget would be “devastating.”
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“The budget proposal would essentially destroy the delivery system and the timely service that farmers have come to rely on to get back on their feet after times of disaster,” according to statement issued by the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau, National Crop Insurance Service, and American Association of Crop Insurers.
Sharp declines in crop prices during the past two years have highlighted the need for insurance, a lobbying group for soybean farmers said.
“Farmers need a stronger safety net, not a weaker one, and now is hardly the time to pull the rug out from under them by weakening the nation’s investment in the crop insurance program,” the American Soybean Association said in a statement.
The National Association of Wheat Growers and the National Corn Growers Association also issued statements opposing the cuts.
