[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 71 (Thursday, June 9, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 CROP INSURANCE REFORM FOR OUR FARMERS

                                 ______


                       HON. THOMAS J. BARLOW III

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 9, 1994

  Mr. BARLOW. Mr. Speaker, I applaud the administration for coming 
forward with a proposal for reform of Federal crop insurance, H.R. 
4217. I look forward to working with the Committee on Agriculture 
toward passage of legislation to improve crop insurance. Farmers 
shoulder one of the riskiest businesses, making a bet each year against 
insects, disease, and the weather. We owe it to our farmers to provide 
a safety net when disaster strikes. A sound, careful crop insurance 
structure is one of the ways we can ensure the survival of the family 
farm. One bad year should not cost a producer his or her operation. Yet 
in today's highly competitive, investment intensive farming, with loan 
payments the order of the day, this can happen in a year of natural 
disaster. Most agree that our current crop insurance system does not 
establish a satisfactory level of financial protection for farm 
households.
  The current crop insurance system currently loses money--roughly $700 
million a year. The United States spends approximately an additional $1 
billion per year for ad hoc disaster assistance. But for all the money 
we spend to help farmers--almost $2 billion annually--we don't have a 
fair, effective, reliable, and cost efficient system. The lack of a 
reliable and cost efficient system hurts farmers applying for loans and 
leads to uncertainty in times of trouble. It is time to establish a 
sensible, cost efficient, and effective crop insurance program.
  I believe that the basic framework of the administration proposal is 
sound. The proposed changes will remove the uncertainty and the 
unfairness of the current process without reducing the needed levels of 
assistance producers receive. However, there are a number of issues 
that still need to be explored.
  I am concerned among other things that Congress not give up its 
ability to help producers on an ad hoc basis before we learn how well 
the new system works. It must be absolutely certain that, in the face 
of a natural disaster, producers in need will receive the assistance 
they require in a timely manner.
  Also, we need to ensure help to producers who are willing to innovate 
with nonstandard and nonprogram crops. We in Kentucky are moving to 
diversify our agricultural base in order to improve farm income and the 
ability to withstand problems in a year with any one crop. But growing 
new crops requires significant investment and entails considerable 
risk, especially in early years of trial and error.
  Let me focus on one area where Kentucky farmers have sought to 
diversify. There are only a handful of apple and pear orchards in 
western and southern Kentucky. One of our orchard operations, owned by 
Dudley and Margaret Lacy of Christian County, has in the past been 
unable to get federally reinsured insurance for their apples and pears 
exactly because there are so few orchards in the area. This past year 
they lost nearly half of their crop in a storm, but received no 
assistance whatsoever. This shortcoming in the current insurance 
program sends a message to people who want to break new ground not to 
bother, because the Government doesn't care to be there in their 
initial years of trial and greatest risk. We need to reduce the risk of 
disaster for these pioneering producers if we want to give them a 
chance to find alternatives to traditional cash crops.
  Again, I look forward to working with the administration, the 
subcommittee and the committee on these and other issues.

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