Since the derecho that hit over two months ago, there has been a lot of questions about how the crop insurance program works. There have been reports of inconsistencies from field to field in the same areas. After many questions, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) Administrator Martin Barbre came to hear the concerns of farmers.
RMA director Barbre came to central Iowa last Thursday to talk to a group of farmers near Nevada. He heard concerns with why some fields have been ?zeroed out?, and why some have not. Barbre said that there are many factors that go into deciding why one field can be plowed under and the field next to it must be harvested. However, every adjuster has a handbook they go by.
Barbre says that even though each adjuster goes through the same training, not every company gives their adjusters the same instructions. That is where a lot of the inconsistencies lie. There were some huge disparities between insurance companies in the beginning, but Barbre says that those have mostly balanced out as time has gone on.
The situation that Iowa has faced in 2020 has underscored that there is clearly a need for a Federal Crop Insurance program. According to Iowa Ag Secretary Naig, the need should be crystal clear going forward.
