And, when organic farmers must collect on their insurance policies, they are compensated at the price of the conventional crop, not the higher organic price. The inequities of the crop insurance system are a key impediment to more farmers converting their land to organic production. In the legislative proposal that will now be considered by the full Agriculture Committee in the coming weeks, subcommittee members call for eliminating or reducing the organic premium and providing...

Cost of crops was adjusted by insurance companies, he said, and farmers will be able to collect federal crop insurance. Weathers said most had crop insurance and will be able to survive another year, but without a bumper crop next year things could be pretty bleak. This year's harvest was a bad one for many farmers who could not cut all their wheat because of heavy spring rain. Still, Redman said only about 50% of the wheat crop in the area was cut and much of it was poor quality. Farmers...

Working in partnership with a team at the John Innes Centre in Norwich the scientists will research improved and more rapid methods for determining whether plant genes may be disrupted by the genetic modification process and if entirely new proteins might arise from the GM process. Working in partnership with a team at the John Innes Centre in Norwich the scientists will research improved and more rapid methods for determining whether plant genes may be disrupted by the genetic...

One of the fattest targets that has emerged: the federal crop insurance program and the money paid to companies and agents to sell and service federally subsidized policies. To get an idea of how much premiums and commissions will rise this year, consider this situation: In Story County, Iowa, the premium for a typical revenue assurance policy that covers 75 percent of the crop value would total about $40 an acre this year, up from $23 an acre in 2006. To get an idea of how much premiums...

Strawberries In addition to low-interest loans and funding from the Supplemental Bill, most apple growers and many farmers will receive payments from their crop insurance. The government canceled the policy because strawberries suffered hail damage two years in a row and yields were not high enough to meet federal crop insurance standards. The Supplemental Fiscal Year 2007 bill contains funding for payments to farmers who lost crops due to a natural disaster. Heath Shuler to thank him for...