East Central South Dakota | What the crop insurance demise ( if it plays out ) tells producers about the voting constituency and the political process as it relates to agriculture should be the focus of our attention. Do not get caught up in the debate of the merits about crop insurance as it relates to production agriculture------that is just an event-----look at the process that will affect EPA regulation, land use management. animal husbandry, confined feeding operations, food security and food production in general. Agriculture has lost its political influence/weight.
A wide range of a bipartisan political consortium in this Country hated crop insurance. Environmentalists, wildlife groups, water advocacy groups, and hunting groups hated crop insurance. Agriculture as an industry couldn't even agree on its level of support. This consortium of activists were able to get the message to soccer moms and the general public to silently get the throat cut on crop insurance. These people DO NOT just sit back once they have won a political battle. They check it off the list and move on to the next issue on that same list, they want to determine the outcome on. What is next on the list ? ? --------confinement feeding, wetlands, opening private land up to the public, dust control, GMO's, fertilizer use.-----pick your issue.
People absolutely take food for granted in this country. Walk into any major grocery chain and why wouldn't you take it for granted ?-------Cheap and abundant and they are will to micro-manage and regulate it into a socialistic industry of disaster.
1. My take away from this is CRP is going to expand fast and furious. CRP rental rates are higher then crop production returns and the people who survived the 80's are retirement age and want out. The same people who cut crop insurance's throat love CRP and green conservation measures in general. They do not care about unintended consequences.
2. We may have seen our last farm bill.
3. The United States will repeat history once again and when the world's grain goes to surplus, we are willing to pay people to take it out of production. While the rest of the world plows at night.
4. Finally, and most importantly, this should be a wake up call to Agriculturalists. Livestock producers, grain producers, Forestry and Mining industries have to stand together as activists will pick off the weak first, but eventually will get around to everybody. They do not care about the unintended consequences----just the issue of the day............
DISCLAIMER-------I am not advocating crop insurance or CRP---that is a different separate discussion. Just trying to look at what the smoke signal is telling us, as I see it.....Teachable moment maybe.........
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what the crop insurance vote really tells agriculture.....
