John Hershey is a law student at Widener Law Commonwealth and a guest contributor to this blog. Crop insurance programs continue to be a sticking point in Farm Bill negotiations. Farmers pay federally subsidized premiums to obtain crop insurance coverage from private insurers. Crop insurance protects revenues when prices fall or natural causes such as drought or flood reduce harvests….
Beverly Bolster is an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland and a guest contributor to this blog. Sustainable farming practices, such as planting cover crops, applying compost to fields, rotating crops, and not tilling soil, can create long-term benefits for farmers, increase crop productivity, and benefit the entire food system. However, these methods may require increased costs or labor…
Emily Hatch is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. On February 9, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry hosted its second hearing on the 2023 Farm Bill, which focused on commodity programs, crop insurance, and credit. In her opening remarks, Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow highlighted the fact that…
Valerie Marshall is a law student at Duke University School of Law and guest contributor on this blog. In FBLE’s 2023 Farm Viability report, FBLE recommends establishing a system for reducing crop insurance subsidies to farms as their annual gross income increases. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) recently released a report about the effects of placing caps on crop…
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Florence and Michael, farmers across the Southeast face devastating losses to this year’s harvest and livestock operations. Through the Farm Bill and other authorizing statutes, Congress has created several programs that allow farmers to receive financial assistance after a natural disaster. These USDA programs go far in helping affected individuals recover and move forward. However, USDA disaster relief programs…
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Florence and Michael, farmers across the Southeast face devastating losses to this year’s harvest and livestock operations. Through the Farm Bill and other authorizing statutes, Congress has created several programs that allow farmers to receive financial assistance after a natural disaster. These USDA programs go far in helping affected individuals recover and move forward. However,…
Beginning today, FBLE is releasing report cards that assess how various drafts of the next farm bill align with FBLE’s policy recommendations. The goal is to provide a snapshot of a very long and complex piece of legislation, and to highlight where specific provisions succeed or fail to advance FBLE’s shared values. Each report card is keyed to one of…
Editor’s Note: This post is part of our series on marker bills and the 2018 Farm Bill. You can track the farm bill’s progress through Congress here and elsewhere on this blog. Farmers face a uniquely high amount of risk. An unexpected drought, an influx of pests, or a lower than expected crop yield can all have devastating effects on…
Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) President Rob Verchick recently sat down to talk with me about the connections between climate change, food security, and policymaking tools like the Farm Bill that could be better used to promote sustainable agricultural practices. I’m excited to share an audio recording of that conversation as CPR prepares to “soft launch” their new “Connect the Dots” podcast. It’s a…
One marker bill currently before the House Agriculture Committee, the Crop Insurance Modernization Act, proposes some of the same reforms to crop insurance as FBLE’s report on Productivity and Risk Management. One of its proposals involves strengthening incentives in crop insurance contracts for farmers to integrate better conservation practices into their regular operations. The bill, also known as H.R. 4865,…