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Corn and Soybeans Rule the American Farm. Why That’s a Growing Problem, in Charts - WSJ"“We don’t like to get government handouts, but we don’t like to go broke either,” Belter said. “It’s a tough time in row-crop production.”"
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USDA Risk Manaagement Agency Beginner's Guide to Crop Insurance"Some of the common causes of loss covered by crop insurance policies include:
• Adverse weather
• Fire
• Insects
• Plant disease
• Wildlife
• Price decline
Crop insurance is a public-private partnership between insurance providers and the federal government.
To purchase a policy, you need to go through a crop insurance agent who sells policies for one of the approved
insurance providers. The federal government subsidizes the insurance premium. Insurance providers sell and administer
the insurance policies, making payments to farmers when there are eligible losses. An identical crop insurance policy will cost the same no matter which agent you use because the prices are set by the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA).
...the cost reflects the types of risks being covered, the likelihood of a loss occurring, and the value of the crop.
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AIP ListingAre there truly only 12 approved agencies on the "Crop Insurance Provider List for 2026"?!
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RMA Fact Sheet: Coarse Grains: Corn, Grain Sorghum, and SoybeansGood overview with all the data on premiums and subsides for corn/soybeans and what are the requirements to be insured
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RMA Fact Sheet: Margin Coverage Option"Margin Coverage Option (MCO) provides area-based coverage against an unexpected
decrease in operating margin (revenue minus input costs) caused by reduced county yields, reduced commodity prices, increased prices of certain inputs, or any combination of these perils."
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The Ultimate Guide to Agricultural Insurance for Modern Farmers | FarmRaise
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Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) | Risk Management Agency
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How crop insurance helps farmers manage riskindicates that a lot of the farm insurance uptake wasn't until the 1980s and 1990s with the additional subsidization -- true? " RMA, was created in 1996 "; hail policies offered privately, outside of multi-peril
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https://www.rma.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2024-02/Cover-Crops-and-Crop-Insurance-Fact-Sheet.pdfDocument that provides assurances that cover cropping is compatible with crop insurance, as long as it falls within Good Farming Practice determinations. With some exceptions:
"If the acreage has been interplanted, which is two or more crops planted in a manner that does not permit separate agronomic maintenance or harvest of the insured crop, the cash crop is not insurable."
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Farm Payments by Programs other than Commodity Programs and Crop Insurance: Third Pillar of the US Farm Safety Net - farmdoc daily"These payments slightly exceeded $8 billion / year in 1999, 2000, and 2001; averaged $1.7 billion / year over 2002-2017; rose to $6 billion in 2018; then exceeded $11 billion each year over 2019-2022, including $35.2 billion in 2020 (see Figure 1). They sum to $143 billion over 1998-2022 and $77 billion if 2020-2022 are excluded. Over 1998-2022, commodity program payments total $192 billion (USDA, ERS farm income and wealth data), and crop insurance indemnities net of farm-paid premiums total $89 billion"
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Cultivating Stability: The Significance of Crop Insurance for Farmers and Agricultural Lenders | AgCountry"a safety net for farmers while simultaneously becoming an asset for agricultural lenders"
"The security provided by crop insurance encourages farmers to adopt sustainable and innovative practices. Knowing that they have a safety net in place, farmers are more willing to invest in modern farming techniques and technologies" -- Is that true?
"Lenders inherently face risks when extending loans to farmers. Crop insurance significantly diminishes the default risk for lenders by acting as a financial safety net for farmers."
"Crop insurance brings stability to loan repayments"
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https://www.rma.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2024-02/Specialty-Crops-Fact-Sheet.pdf"WFRP provides protection against the loss of insured revenue due to an unavoidable natural cause of loss"
"Federal crop insurance coverage for specialty crops has grown steadily over the past 15 years and the amount of insurance for specialty crops totaled more than $18 billion in 2019"
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Farm Insurance 101: What You Need to Know
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About the Risk Management Agency"The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA), created in 1996"
"RMA manages the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC)"
"RMA’s fiscal year 2021 operating budget was $67.1 million. RMA managed more than $114 billion worth of insurance liability in 2020, the most recent completed crop year"
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RMA Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Guidance for LendersDetails for lenders on WFRP
"Farm diversification is calculated to determine: The amount of premium rate discount to account for the lower risk due to farm diversification; and The subsidy amount:
◊ Farms with 2 or more commodities receive a whole-farm premium subsidy.
◊ Farms with one commodity receive an enterprise premium subsidy.
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Natural Disasters and Crop Insurance"Prevented planting is the failure to plant an insured crop with the proper equipment by the final planting date or during the late planting period, if applicable. To qualify, you must be prevented from planting by an insured cause of loss that is general to the surrounding area and that prevents other producers from planting acreage with similar characteristics. Final planting dates and late planting periods vary by crop and by area."
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Risk Management Tools for Ag Retailers: A Gap In the Industry - The Scoop
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Risk Management - Government Programs & Risk | Economic Research Service"Federal crop insurance was established in the 1930s to cover yield losses from most natural causes (multiple-peril crop insurance or MPCI). Crop insurance operated on a limited basis up through the early 1980s. Insurance availability was greatly expanded and premium subsidies were increased to raise participation in the program after the Disaster Payments Program was ended in 1981, making crop insurance the only program that was available to compensate producers for crop losses before an adverse event. Major reforms were legislated in 1994 and 2000, which included the introduction of CAT (catastrophic) coverage and large increases in premium subsidies. In the mid-1990s, revenue insurance was introduced into the Federal crop insurance program (FCIP) and has since become the most popular form of crop insurance. Whereas crop yield insurance covers only yield losses, crop revenue insurance pays when gross revenue (yield times price) falls below a specified level. As of the 2023 crop year, approximately 540 million farm acres are insured the Federal crop insurance program."
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Federal Crop Insurance Corp - Summary of Business Report for 2023 thru 2026 As of July 7, 2025Data on acres covered by crop insurance per year from RMA
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Crop Insurance Reform Campaign – Community Farm AllianceData on enrolled acres and claims based on crops
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Risk Management Strategies | Economic Research Service
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Risk Management - Crop Insurance at a Glance | Economic Research ServiceAmazing series of charts (using a couple in piece)
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https://www.rma.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2024-02/RMA-Quick-Facts-Fact-Sheet.pdf"RMA estimates that 85 percent of planted acreage for major crops is now covered by crop insurance while 73 percent is covered for those specialty crops with crop insurance available."
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Farm Commodity Programs: An OverviewGreat overview on historical commodity programs
"The PLC and ARC programs provide income support at levels above where regular crop insurance may apply for farmers facing adverse price or yield conditions"
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Farm Payments by Programs other than Commodity Programs and Crop Insurance: Third Pillar of the US Farm Safety Net - farmdoc dailyBeyond crop insurance and commodity programs, a look at the direct payments (which have increased since 1998)
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Farm Commodity Provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill (P.L. 115-334) | Congress.gov"The first tier of support is provided by the Marketing Assistance Loan (MAL) program, which offers interim financing for production of "loan" commodities in the form of a nine-month nonrecourse loan at statutorily set prices. A producer must have a harvested crop to offer as collateral"
"The MAL program may be supplemented by a higher, second tier of revenue support comprised of (1) the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program, which provides price protection at the national level via statutory fixed "reference" prices for eligible crops, or (2) the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) program, which provides revenue protection via historical moving average revenue guarantees based on the five most recent years of national crop prices and county or farm average yields. Participation is free for both ARC and PLC. However, a producer must own or rent historical "base" acres of "covered" commodities."
"The enacted 2018 farm bill continues a $125,000 per-person cap on combined PLC and ARC payments... To be eligible for payments, persons must be actively engaged in farming (AEF)"
"Specialty crops such as fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts are not covered."
"Proponents see the goal of farm policy as maintaining the economic health of the nation's farm sector so that it can use its comparative advantage in supplying domestic demand and competing in the global market for food and fiber. Critics argue that farm revenue support programs waste taxpayer dollars, distort producer behavior in favor of certain crops, capitalize benefits to the owners of the resources, encourage concentration of production, and comparatively harm smaller domestic producers and farmers in lower-income foreign nations."
"During the five marketing years of 2014 through 2018, six crops (corn, wheat, soybeans, peanuts, cotton, and rice) accounted for an estimated 92% of farm commodity program payments."
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The Farm Bill Has Done More Good Than You Think
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U.S. Farm Commodity Support: Base Acres and Payment Yields | Congress.gov
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Farm Bill 2023: Reviewing Pieces of the Base Acres Puzzle - farmdoc daily
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Reconciliation Bill Proposals to Add Base Acres - farmdoc daily
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Farm Bill 2023: The Intersection of Base Acres and Reference Prices - farmdoc daily
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The New Base Acre Provisions in the 2025 Farm Bill - farmdoc daily
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Base Acre Updating in the Next Farm Bill - farmdoc daily
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2018 Farm Bill - Crop Commodity Programs | Economic Research Service
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New report sheds light on problems with the farm safety net
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Participation, Payouts in Two USDA Risk Management Programs Vary Widely Based on Market Outcomes
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Minority Analysis: The May 2023 Farm Bill Scoring BaselineIncludes pie chart of Farm Bill budget (2018)
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Risk Management Strategies | Economic Research Service
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Good Farming Practice Determination Standards Handbook
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RMA Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Guidance for Lenders
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RMA Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Guidance for Lenders
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Whole-Farm Revenue Protection
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USDA Risk Manaagement Agency Beginner's Guide to Crop Insurance"An identical crop insurance policy will cost the same no matter which agent you use because the prices are set by the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA). Therefore, your relationship with the agent and their understanding of crop insurance matters the most"
"The cost of a crop insurance policy varies based on several different factors. In part, the cost reflects the types of risks being covered, the likelihood of a loss occurring, and the value of the crop. In fact, the cost of a crop insurance policy will vary from county to county and field to field. For example, insuring crops grown next to a river that floods regularly will likely have a higher cost when compared to crops that are grown outside of the flood plain."
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Farmer Bankruptcies and Farm Exits in the United States, 1899-2002Fantastic compilation of farm bankruptcy data from 1899-2002
"Since 1980 an assortment of measures have been undertaken by the Federal Government to enable farmers to cope with a variety of economic challenges and to remain in business. Many of these actions were spurred by the 1982-86 farm financial crisis and its aftermath. The intent of these actions was to assist farmers, and the results may be to retain more farmers in agriculture than would have been the case in the absence of these programs. The new laws had a lasting impact on agricultural credit markets."
"the net outflow of people from farming began in earnest during the post-World War II prosperity rather than during a period of financial stress. By contrast, the bankruptcies of the 1980s occurred in the midst of a long decline in farm numbers, setting off a particularly acute wave of concern."
" There were 4,812 Chapter 12 bankruptcies filed during the year ending June 30, 1987 for the highest annual total since 1933."
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https://www.uscourts.gov/data-news/reports/statistical-reports/bankruptcy-filing-statistics/bankruptcy-statistics-data-visualizationsMore recent bankruptcy data, filter by Ch. 12.
Only goes back to 2008
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2024 Farm Bankruptcies Highlight Worsening Farm Credit | Market Intel | American Farm Bureau Federation"The U.S. Courts reports that 216 farm bankruptcies were filed in 2024, up 55% from 2023. This is still 64% lower than the all-time high of 599 filings in 2019"
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Farm Bill Primer: Farm Safety Net Programs | Congress.gov"The so-called federal "farm safety net" is a collection of programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provide risk protection and income support to farmers in the United States who experience natural disasters, adverse growing conditions, and/or low market prices. Program payments are triggered automatically based on production, weather, and/or market conditions. Farm safety net programs fall into three categories: the federal crop insurance program (FCIP), standing agricultural disaster programs, and agricultural commodity support programs."
"If continued in the next farm bill, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the combined federal cost of farm safety net programs to average about $13.4 billion annually for FY2023-FY2032, not adjusted for inflation"
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https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-bill/2018-farm-bill/crop-commodity-programs""Covered commodities" for PLC and ARC include wheat, corn, sorghum, barley, oats, seed cotton, long- and medium-grain rice, certain pulses, soybeans/other oilseeds, and peanuts. Commodities eligible for MAL include wheat, corn, sorghum, barley, oats, upland and extra-long-staple cotton, long- and medium-grain rice, soybeans/other oilseeds, certain pulses, peanuts, sugar, honey, wool, and mohair."
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Farm Bill 2024: A Mid-Summer’s Review - farmdoc daily"The reality of reference prices differs drastically from the political arguments made on their behalf. Reference prices are merely payment delivery mechanisms, not risk management tools; more problematically, they represent political decisions to benefit some farmers more than others."
"Any payments they trigger are made on base acres, not the acres a farmer planted and for which there is actual risk; likewise, any costs of production for specific crops are irrelevant when payments are decoupled. Additionally, any payments are made a year after a crop was harvested and marketed, well after any costs or risks were incurred"
"When made, payments hit the farmer’s bank accounts around the time the next season’s costs are likely to be booked and cash rents negotiated. Setting reference prices too high is more likely to feed inflationary pressures in the future rather than provide assistance for costs in the past, especially on crops not planted."
"Because payments are decoupled from planting decisions, farmers can receive disparate payments while planting and insuring the same crops. Reference price decisions in Congress impact the value of the base acres, allowing farmers with high value base acres to plant other crops, especially crops with lower costs or risk, and take out crop insurance on the crops planted. Under that reality, a farmer can receive crop insurance indemnities for losses on crops planted while also receiving payments on base acres that have no relation to the crop planted, providing an additional cash benefit to those with the more valuable base acres."
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The Farm Crisis of the 1980s | Iowa PBSIncludes basic timeline leading up to 1980s farm crisis
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Beth Ford: A Storm Is Gathering in American Agriculture | TIMEBeth Ford (Land o Lakes) opinion piece on increasing financial stress in farm country
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Get Started at Your USDA Service Center | Farmers.gov"USDA employs FSA and NRCS staff members in 2,300 offices nationwide to provide dedicated support to our producers"
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Agencies | USDA"The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is made up of 29 agencies and offices with nearly 100,000 employees who serve the American people at more than 4,500 locations across the country and abroad."
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Farm Bankruptcies Down… For Now | Market IntelGood source for other farm financial indicators
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Lawmakers 'in the very early stage' of Skinny Farm Bill DiscussionsFarm Bill unlikely until 2026
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Federal Crop Insurance: Delivery Subsidies in Brief"RMA sets premium rates for federal crop insurance policies and does not allow AIPs to compete on price (premium). All AIPs are directed to charge the same amount of premium for the same policy to the same farmer. Lack of price competition generated concerns among some observers around two issues in particular: (1) AIPs potentially paying excessive compensation to agents to grow their portfolios and (2) AIPs and agents potentially engaging in rebating mechanisms and other devices to indirectly compete on price. Although RMA has addressed both issues through regulations and guidance, some observers assert that these issues seem to be ongoing challenges."
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Who Are Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs)?"There are currently 12 AIPs who collectively offer coverage for more than 130 crops and livestock in all 50 states"
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The Structure of the U.S. Crop Insurance Industry FSA72
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59% of Ag Economists Think Congress Won’t Pass a New Farm Bill Until 2026 - AgWebThe April Monthly Monitor asked the nearly 70 ag economists surveyed each month when they think Congress will pass a new farm bill:
59% said 2026
24% think it won’t happen until 2027
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Agent Locator | Risk Management Agency
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United States Farm Insurance Market Size, Key Highlights, Market Gaps & Growth 2026-2033
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Supplemental Coverage Option for Federal Crop Insurance Fact Sheet
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How Does Crop Insurance Work? - ProAg
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https://www.proag.com/basics-of-crop-insurance/history-of-crop-insurance/"In 1935, the dust storms began. After a year of record-breaking heat, the dusty soil from plowed fields drifted and piled up like snowdrifts, except it didn’t melt in the spring. Instead, crops and cattle died. On Feb 19, 1937, the Federal government announced the first national crop insurance program to help agriculture recover from the combined effects of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl."
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Crop Criteria
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Crop Insurance 101: The Basics | Market Intel | American Farm Bureau Federation"Farmers participating in crop insurance are required to follow USDA’s guidance on good farm practices while planting, growing and harvesting their crops. This reduces risk to the program related to operator-caused crop losses."
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First and Second Crop Rules Fact Sheet
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https://www.rma.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2024-02/Soybean-Quality-Adjustment-Fact-Sheet.pdf
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Revenue Insurance Payment Scenarios for Corn and Soybeans in 2024 - farmdoc daily
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Crop Insurance Covers Most Major Crops2015 data on coverage for row crops, specialty crops (34% vegetables, 74% fruit and nut, 89% field crops). Specialty crops also have lower levels of coverage (e.g., only catastrophic) whereas the field crops have closer to 90% of the crop value insured.
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Crop Insurance Unit and Adverse Selection - farmdoc daily
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Bruce Sherrick
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Coarse Grains Crop Provisions
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Crop Insurance Decision Tool - farmdoc
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Enhanced Coverage Option and Supplemental Coverage Option | Peoples Company
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Cost Estimator - Home
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National Summary of Business Reports | Risk Management Agency
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Federal Crop Insurance Corp - Summary of Business Report for 2023 thru 2026 As of July 7, 2025
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Checking In on Crop Insurance: An Overview of the Federal Program
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Forty years of falling manufacturing employment
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The Reality of American “Deindustrialization” | Cato Institute
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2025 farm profit forecast: Negative, despite bigger government payments"A key highlight is that farmers automatically will receive the higher payment of Agriculture Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage at the county level, regardless of which they chose for the 2025 crop. In 2026, farmers will need to pick which program to enroll in."
"OBBBA includes several improvements to commodity support programs. For the PLC program, statutory reference prices increased from $3.70 to $4.10 for corn and $8.40 to $10 for soybeans, while the effective reference price increased from 85% to 88%. For ARC, the coverage level increased from 86% to 90%. These changes protect farmers more when prices drop by raising the price floors that trigger government payments."
"While these extra payments help farmers, they also make it harder to lower cash rent and other input costs"
"“We’re getting more for corn and soybeans, but rice, peanuts and cotton are more than tripling their payments from already high levels,” Schnitkey says. “This bill is Southern-centric. It helps out Southern farmers much more than Midwest and other farmers.”"
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Town and Country: Linking Agriculture and the Nonfarm Rural EconomiesEven farms with over a million in farm income still had 20% of household income from off farm jobs
"Here rather than the widely held belief that a healthy farm economy is the foundation of a thriving rural America; the opposite holds true. A viable farm requires a financially stable farm household that is dependent on a strong nonagricultural dependent community. The viability of the local economy is necessary for a viable farm economy."
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Insurance Plans | Risk Management Agency"RMA provides policies for more than 100 crops"
Descriptions of plans like actual production history, actual revenue history, whole farm revenue plan, area risk protecton insurance, etc.
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History of the United States Farm Bill"The first farm bill, the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, was a part of the New Deal. In response to the drop in US crop prices after the first World War and the effect of both the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl on farmers and agricultural markets, the Agricultural Adjustment Act created programs to reduce surplus and raise crop prices."
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History of the Crop Insurance Program"However, farmers who accepted other benefits were required to purchase crop insurance or otherwise waive their eligibility for any disaster benefits that might be made available for the crop year. These provisions are still in effect."
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Reduce Subsidies in the Crop Insurance Program | Congressional Budget Office"The federal government pays about 60 percent of total premiums, on average, and farmers pay about 40 percent."
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U.S. Agriculture Sector Received an Estimated $35 Billion in COVID-19-Related Assistance in 2020 | Economic Research Service"The two rounds of Coronavirus Food Assistance Programs (CFAP 1 and CFAP 2) in 2020 provided $23.5 billion in direct payments to farmers and ranchers, who faced additional market disruptions, production costs, and reduced farm-level prices."
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The Market Facilitation Program: A New Direction in Public Agricultural Policy? - farmdoc daily"If all three tranches of MFP 2019 are made—and there is little reason to doubt that they will—the total spending for both the 2018 and 2019 versions could exceed $24 billion"
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https://www.usda.gov/farming-and-ranching/resources-small-and-mid-sized-farmers/commodity-credit-corporation
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Changing Farm Structure and the Distribution of Farm Payments and Federal Crop Insurance"The distribution of commodity-related payments and Federal crop insurance indemnities to U.S. farmers has shifted to larger farms as more and more U.S. agricultural production is done on those farms. Since the operators of larger farms tend to have higher household incomes than other farm operators, commodity-related program payments and Federal crop insurance indemnities also have shifted to higher income households. By 2009, half of commodity-related program payments went to farms operated by households earning over $89,540, a quarter went to farms operated by households with incomes greater than $209,000 and 10 percent went to farms operated by households with incomes of at least $425,000."
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Reviewing the Latest CBO Farm Bill Baseline - farmdoc daily
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The Arithmetic of Commodity Title Programs - farmdoc daily
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2025 Grain Farm Return Prospects at the Beginning of July with a New Commodity Title - farmdoc daily
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Impacts of the Commodity Title Changes Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) for Midwestern Farms in 2025 - farmdoc daily
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Federal Programs for Agricultural Risk Management
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Farm Bill Math Updated in New CBO Baseline | Market Intel
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Emergency Funding for Agriculture: A Brief History of Supplemental Appropriations, FY1989-FY2012 - EveryCRSReport.com
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Commodity Credit Corporation | USDA