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Farmer participation a key metric when evaluating federal crop insurance

A professor of applied economics points to a key metric when measuring the success of federal crop insurance.

Marin Bozic with the University of Minnesota tells Brownfield if Title I programs aren’t used much, that’s a signal they need to be modified, scrapped, or otherwise improved.

“But when it comes to crop insurance and Title I programs in general, we have seen increasing demand for those services over the life of the current farm bill.”

He suggests farmer participation makes for a strong argument as some in Congress consider cutting back on certain safety nets.

“We have also seen a strong uptick of new programs that allow producers to put not just catastrophic protection, but protection that is closer to ensuring that they are profitable through enhanced coverage options.”

Bozic says crop insurance can be improved in the next farm bill by offering better choices for covering margins and covering input costs.