Thomas Daschle: “the farmers and ranchers of this country have been struggling with terrible economic conditions over the past three…”

“the farmers and ranchers of this country have been struggling with terrible economic conditions over the past three years. They have seen their prices collapse and remain at, or in many cases below, the cost of production. Not only have farmers in my state and across the country endured these low prices, they have also been subject to the unpredictable forces of droughts, floods and crop disease. We have before us a bill that will help farmers and ranchers survive these bad times and manage production risks. S. 2251, the Risk Management for the 21st Century Act, is a comprehensive approach to reforming and improving crop insurance for producers across the country. It will make the federal crop insurance program more affordable and effective. Currently, the government provides subsidies for multi-peril crop insurance, but subsidies are progressively less at higher levels of coverage. This aspect of the crop insurance program often has the effect of restricting farmers from investing in the most efficient levels of coverage for their farms. This bill inverts this subsidy, so the higher levels of coverage are subsidized at the highest levels. This makes meaningful and comprehensive coverage much more affordable to farmers in this country who rely on the program to manage their production risks.”