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Farm bill hearing stresses need for stronger safety nets

America’s corn and soybean farmers say they need a stronger safety net in the next farm bill.

American Soybean Association President and Arkansas farmer Brad Doyle says crop insurance payments were not triggered during the China trade war and that hurt soybean growers. “If soybeans, the second largest crop planted by area in the U.S., didn’t get help from Title 1 in this situation, it is hard to imagine a scenario where a Title 1 safety net could provide meaningful help with the current reference price.”

National Corn Growers Association President and Iowa farmer Chris Edgington says safety nets implemented in the 2018 Farm Bill help protect farmers from volatility in the markets. “Today’s future and cash prices appear strong.  However, there are no assurances that commodity prices will trend upwards or stay where they are at.”  

Doyle and Edgington say farmers across the U.S. cited crop insurance as their top concern from recent farm bill listening sessions and surveys.

Monday was the last day in the price discovery period crop insurance projected prices for spring planted crops like corn and soybeans.

Crop insurance projected or base prices are used to set insurance guarantees for revenue and yield contracts. The base price for corn came out at $5.89 per bushel with a price volatility of .22. The base price is up $1.31 cents from last year while the volatility is roughly the same.

This is the second highest projected price in history but with higher yields this likely means an all-time high for revenue guarantees. The base price for soybeans is estimated at $14.32 per bushel, which is up $2.46 per bushel from last year and 0.84 cents from the record set in 2011.

They testified on Tuesday before a House Ag Committee Hearing on a 2022 Review of the Farm Bill.

Brownfield’s Will Robinson contributed to this story.

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