A long time ago... in a world far, far away, the farmers were struggling to feed the world. Okay, not that long ago, but since the start of The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), we have come a long way in protecting our future.
1930's
With the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression taking their toll on farmers in the 1930s, they needed help to rise to the occasion of feeding America. Therefore crop insurance was born; as an experiment to see what difference would be made through the government program.
It didn't take long to realize that crop insurance was working and benefiting farmers, so in 1938, The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) was created to carry out the program.
1980
Almost 50 years after the experiment began, the first Federal Crop Insurance Act of 1980 debuted. "The 1980 Act expanded the crop insurance program to many more crops and regions of the country. It encouraged expansion to replace the free disaster coverage (compensation to farmers for prevented planting losses and yield losses) offered under Farm Bills created in the 1960s and 1970s because the free coverage competed with the experimental crop insurance program. To encourage participation in the expanded crop insurance program, the 1980 Act authorized a subsidy equal to 30 percent of the crop insurance premium limited to the dollar amount at 65 percent coverage." -RMA.
1994 - 1996
Next, the Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994 came into play. After several years of droughts, too much rain, ad hoc disaster bills, and problems with the original Federal Crop Insurance Act. "The 1994 Act made participation in the crop insurance program mandatory for farmers to be eligible for deficiency payments under price support programs, certain loans, and other benefits. In 1996, Congress repealed the mandatory participation requirement. However, farmers who accepted other benefits had to purchase crop insurance or otherwise waive their eligibility for any disaster benefits available for the crop year. These provisions are still in effect." -RMA.
2000
After that, the Ag Risk Protection Act of 2000 came out. It provided broader access to policies and targeted waste, fraud, and abuse. The improvement of policies helped farmers better protect their crops through different services, targeting precisely what they needed. Through doing this, crop insurance waste, fraud, and abuse decreased dramatically. Farmers didn't have to get everything offered; they could do more of picking and choosing what was right for them.
2014 & 2018
Finally, in 2014 and 2018, farm bills came into play to expand product offerings, focus on specialty crops, and invest in beginning and veteran farmers. By expanding what crops were covered through insurance in different regions, farmers could focus primarily on what they knew how to do best: grow crops. Specialty crops were in higher demand because of the low supply, and targeting those crops through crop insurance enhanced their availability.
Today
Today crop insurance plays a significant role in protecting the future of agriculture and the way of life that provides for so many. Hasz Insurance has many services to fill all your needs, from hail to whole-farm protection to livestock protection. Follow us into the future.
Sources:
RMA Website: click the icon to go to the page
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