Washington, D.C.-
This week 418 local, state and national organizations and individual companies signed on to a petition urging Congress to do no harm to the crop insurance program in the farm bill. This includes broad support from across the country, from Hawaii to Maine, representing everyone from farmers to lenders to conservation organizations to agricultural input providers. This petition was sent to the House of Representatives, as H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, heads to the House floor for a vote this week.
Specifically, the petition asks Members of Congress to oppose harmful amendments to crop insurance including those that would reduce participation in crop insurance, make insurance more expensive for farmers during a time of economic downturn in agriculture, or harm private-sector delivery.
"The petition showcases the wide-spread grassroots support for crop insurance," said Tara Smith, CIRB Vice President of Federal Affairs. "We encourage everyone to reach out to their Representatives today to ensure they hear directly what folks in the countryside already know: that crop insurance works, and we need to protect it from harmful amendments in the farm bill."
To amplify this message, the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) also coordinated a social media campaign that was supported by more than 100 agriculture stakeholders, with a potential reach of reach of more than 304,000 total social media users.
The crop insurance program is essential for farmers, ranchers, and rural economies. A letter echoing these key points was originally signed and sent to the House Agriculture Committee by a group of 65 national farm, lending, ag input, conservation, and crop insurance and reinsurance organizations to express their support for crop insurance in the farm bill.
To read the
final petition click here.
For questions or more information about the petition please contact Sarah Hubbart at shubbart@torreydc.com.
# # #
|
