Many California producers now take advantage of crop insurance programs. A Minnesota congressman is concerned about possible reduced crop insurance funding in the next farm bill.
Concerns About Reduced Crop Insurance Funding
California, crop insurance and the next farm bill are on the mind of a Minnesota congressman, speaking at a major farm show in his home state. Congressman Colin Peterson talked about the importance of crop insurance at the FarmFest in Redwood Falls, Minnesota.
Peterson says he’s concerned that safety net and crop insurance programs will be a target for reduced funds in the next farm bill, something he intends to fend off. “I can tell you from my position that I will do everything I can to maintain the crop insurance system and improve it,” Peterson says. “One of the things we’ve done that I think has helped us is we’ve expanded it considerably to crops that haven’t had insurance in the past. This really helped us this last time because we expanded it to California. Kevin McCarthy, who is now the majority leader, took up the fight for us largely because California is now a big user of crop insurance. We need to make sure that we maintain it, that it works for producers and I will do whatever I can do to keep it intact.”