RFA Ethanol Podcast

#CIRB2017 Gets Legislative Update

Cindy Zimmerman

Lower farm income may not seem like a good thing for farmers right now, but it might make getting a good farm bill a little easier than it was last time, according to American Farm Bureau’s Mary Kay Thatcher who gave members of the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau a legislative update at their annual meeting this week.

“Certainly farmers are suffering, but if you’re looking at it from a legislative perspective on writing a farm bill, it’s actually good for inside the beltway,” she said.

As far as risk management is concerned, crop insurance has been a target during budget negotiations and Thatcher expects that to continue. “Crop insurance always has a reason to be concerned,” she said, since it is biggest section of the farm portion of the farm bill. “Why do you rob a bank, because that’s where the money is, and that’s why they look at crop insurance,” said Thatcher.

In this interview, Thatcher also discusses why she thinks the next farm bill might be the most conservation-oriented ever, and her thoughts on how the dairy program might change to make it more like crop insurance. Interview with Mary Kay Thatcher, AFBF, at CIRB2017

Listen to Mary Kay’s presentation here: Mary Kay Thatcher presentation at CIRB2017

2017 CIRB Annual Meeting photo album

AFBF, Audio, CIRB, Insurance